Sixteen Candles

Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Gedde Watanabe
Directed by: John Hughes
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
1984

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Samantha (Molly Ringwald) is having a terrible time. Her parents have completely forgotten her sixteenth birthday, the guy (Justin Henry) she loves doesn't know she exists, and a nerd (Anthony Michael Hall) won't leave her alone. She tries to maintain her sanity as she struggles with high school.

Review:

Tim: This film stands as one of John Hughes' classic tale of adolescence in the 1980s. This film achieves its level of success by providing a series of memorable characters and scenes. We have the premise of a high school girl whose parents completely forget about her sixteenth birthday while rushing to put together her sister's wedding. Complicating matters even more, the girl loves a guy at school who doesn't know she exists, to cope with an insane foreign exchange student living with her grandparents. These comic moments are strung together in a film that accurately captures the pain and heartache of high school.

We couldn't find a better heroine than Molly Ringwald. She just possesses that girl-next-door charm that makes her irresistable in this role. She gets some good support from the rest of the cast. Anthony Michael Hall is hilarious as the biggest nerd of all time. Also watch out for John Cusack as Hall's nerdy pal and Joan Cusack as a nerdy girl. Gedde Watanabe is hilarious as foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong. Only Justin Henry manages to be forgettable, as Ringwald's love interest.

Sixteen Candles is a classic high school movie beloved by those who were in school during the 80s. Director John Hughes has such a gift of capturing that melancholy yet wonderful time before we turn into adults, and does so here. While this film has its flaws and isn't the best 80s high school movie (it doesn't beat The Breakfast Club), it is still a solid film and without a doubt, worth seeing.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink