X
- 1984
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1984
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Summary Nothing seems to be going right for Samantha (Ringwald) on her sixteenth birthday. Her family forgets her birthday, she's in love with the school jock who doesn't seem to know she exists and the school nerd won't leave her alone.
Directed By: John Hughes
Written By: John Hughes
- 1984
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1984
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Sixteen Candles
61
6.5
Where to Watch
Summary Nothing seems to be going right for Samantha (Ringwald) on her sixteenth birthday. Her family forgets her birthday, she's in love with the school jock who doesn't seem to know she exists and the school nerd won't leave her alone.
Directed By: John Hughes
Written By: John Hughes
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
61
64% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
27% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
9% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 Critic Reviews
61
64% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
27% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
9% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The best teenage comedy since last year's "Risky Business."
The premise is ordinary, but the film is distinguished by funny gags and excellent performances by Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 66 User Ratings
6.5
55% Positive
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
29% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
17% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 66 User Ratings
6.5
55% Positive
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
29% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
17% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
This was one of the best movies that John Hughes has made. I lost it at the part when Jake's drunk "girl friend" gives Tim a birth control pill. I laughed at the parts with Long Duk Dong because he doesn't know that it's not cool to get drunk and he thinks Jake is a girl and grabs his privates.
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Sixteen Candles was really enjoyable for me. I know a lot of people have different opinions but I think its overall a good movie and personally really entertaining to me. I like the comedy style in it and the casting choices and performances.
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This is a fresh and cheerful movie with a goofy sense of humor and a good ear for how teenagers talk.
The movie is cheerful and light, showcasing Mr. Hughes's knack for remembering all those aspects of middle-class American adolescent behavior that anyone else might want to forget.
There are individual sequences alternately amusing and touching. [08 May 1984]
Hall is very funny as the energetic adolescent pest and a good supporting cast includes the Cusack sibings John and Joan.
Hughes invokes the classical unities of time, place, and plot symmetry, yet he trashes his careful structure every time he needs a gag - destroying the integrity of his characters, shattering the plausibility of his situations.
Of what many consider the "God-tier" John Hughes films -- "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles," "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles" -- this one is easily my second favorite (after "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles," of course). It's one of the only ones with a clear, through-line of tension, irony, stakes, and world, capitalizing on well drawn out characters and some mostly effective humor. Like a lot of other Hughes films, however, this doesn't age very well in certain respects, particularly in scenes featuring Gedde Watanabe's infamous Long Duk Dong. But the heart of this film is relatively pure, and the whole of it is as entertaining, well-acted, and as memorable/quotable all hell.
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Sadly, this, the entire movie of what you're seeing here, will never happen to you. If so, then you should be crowned lucky. Still, I should be crowned lucky that I managed to live my life the way I wanted it to be and giving Sixteen Candles an okay rating would be an insult to 1980's fans, but in general, it's just plain cheesy. Back in the 1980's, movies were considered cheap and that's where Sixteen Candles become literally cheap. Not the best from John Hughes. Look for a different movie.
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As funny as all of John Hughes' other 1980s classics, Sixteen Candles is at times truly hysterical and is equally a great commentary on growing up and turning 16. That said, the film is held back by two major issues. One, it is deeply racist with numerous Asian stereotypes and making fun of its Asian character as much as possible. Additionally, it is mind numbingly sexist. Including trivialization of date **** and caricature female characters, Sixteen Candles feels more like an ode to the days when a man could have a woman whether she wanted him or not. This really odd sequence ruins the film at large and turns it into a cringeworthy and truly dated exercise that leaves one feeling disgusted by the characters in the film more so than entertained. Sixteen Candles may provide laughs, but is morally troublesome.
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While this movie obviously didn't aged well to todays standards. This is one of the lesser movies of John Hughes.
First it was highly politically incorrect, border lining sexual harassments, promoting adultery, stereotypical racism and downright misogynism. If kids were watching this back in the days, no wonder decades later we get outpours of sexual harassment cases and a peak of #metoo movements, producing the harvey weinsteins and epsteins of our society. This was a recall and glimpse of the dark side of the 80s we didnt like, and rewatching it again, plants us in the face of the ugly reality. Especially the derogative scene where they depict racial jokes against a supposedly chinese, but play japanese music in the background and letting him speak japanese is not only discriminatory, but also shows us how ignorant people were with other culture back in the days and how racially biased Hollywood was to let asian act as stereoptypical dorks.
Other than that, the script was mostly irregular and cringe, and some scenes totally didn't make any sense at all. The jokes weren't funny and was downright lazy writing. The actors were casted wrong with apparent age gaps that in normal circumstance would never encounter each other in their respective school settings. The characters were not likeable, not relatable and sometimes downright rude.
Don't get me wrong, Molly Ringwald was incredible as ever, but the storytelling and script was embarrassingly cringe and forgettable.
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What could have been a perfectly mediocre 80s teen flick is marred by an absolutely horrendous **** subplot that is too often overlooked. Sure "tHe CuLtUrE wAs DiFfErEnT" back then or whatever but that should not excuse how a horrific violation of one of the main characters occurs (admittedly off-screen) and that this is made to serve as a punchline repeatedly throughout the latter half of the movie or so. Absolutely despicable inclusion that should kill any fond memories anyone has of this film.
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Awards
Young Artist Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Casting Society of America, USA
• 1 Nomination
