Sixteen Candles (1984)

"I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek"

It isn't easy being Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald; Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club). She has just turned sixteen, her family has forgotten her birthday, she is insecure about her body, and the hot stud of her dreams seemingly has no idea she exists. To top it off, her grandparents have set up residence in her bedroom as her older sister is getting married the next day. Things don't exactly improve for her when she gets to school. Whilst filling in a sex survey and attempting to pass it to her big haired best friend, Randy (Liane Curtis; Baby, It's You, Critters 2), she accidentally drops it and it ends up in the hands of Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling; Vision Quest, Mermaids), who also happens to be the piece of manly meat that she is drooling over. Well, at least he knows she exists now. The problem is, he is already in a relationship with super babe cheerleader Caroline (Haviland Morris; Who's That Girl, Gremlins 2: The New Batch). Even the girls drool over her in the shower.

Bugging Samantha all day is king of the geeks, Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall; National Lampoons Vacation, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science). He has made a bet with his other nerd friends that he can prove himself a stud and nail Samantha before the day is over. With a painful day of school over with, Sam returns home to find that not only are her grandparents staying, but they have brought along an exchange student in the shape of Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe; Vamp, Gremlins 2: The New Batch). To escape the madness, she decides she is better off going to the school dance that night, and is forced to take Long Duk Dong along for the ride.

Ted vows that he can get her undies as a souvenir to prove his conquest to his buddies, but when he finds Sam crying on her own, he admits to her that Jake is actually interested in her. As a friendly gesture, she reluctantly gives him her panties, so he can maintain his dignity among the nerd herd. Needless to say, within ten minutes he is selling peeks at them for a buck a piece in the mens toilets. What a guy! With the school dance winding up, the party heads on to Jakes home where the action really hots up. Will Samantha finally get the man of her dreams? Will Ted finally get laid? And just what the hell is Long Duk Dong up to on that exercise bike with the large breasted lady?

Sixteen Candles has quite the legacy at this point. It was the directorial debut of John Hughes, who had a few successes in screen writing with the films Mr Mom and National Lampoons Vacation. It set the bench mark for the generally fantastic track record he maintained over the coming ten years of his career, and helped redefine what a high school film could achieve. It was also the breakout role for Molly Ringwald, who followed this with a string of hits, several under the direction of Hughes again. The films they made together are so iconic that when people say, '80's film', chances are they are thinking of The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink. And rightly so, they helped define the era of angsty teens, romance and new wave soundtracks. So how does Sixteen Candles hold up to it's near 30 year age?

It's still a funny film. The comedy for most of it has aged well enough, and the dialogue is snappy between the leads. It certainly helps when the best lines go to Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall; they do a fantastic job at making their characters human yet amusing. Hall in particular shines as the second leading act, he never stands still in a scene and steals every moment he can. He deserves them. The drama between the leads works quite well; the more gentle moments such as the work shop scene during the school dance is great, with Ted dropping his 'I need to get laid' persona for a few minutes as he comforts a fellow human being. The fact that he is willing to help Samantha and Jake get together makes him a much more interesting character than he could have been.  Even Jake as the stud is a likable enough guy, bar one or two moments that I'll get into later.

Some of the broader comedy doesn't hold up, however. There are a couple of re-occurring visual gags that kinda fall flat, such as the moments with Long Duk Dong. Every time he comes on screen we are greeted with a groan worthy Asian 'gong', as if the horrible stereotyping of his character wasn't bad enough. It's like he is the bastard son of Mickey Rooneys character in Breakfast at Tiffanys. It's probably the films biggest flaw, really, but it's not a deal breaker. There is also an air of 'who cares' about the treatment of semi conscious girls, especially in regards to the character of Caroline when she passes out. I guess looking at them through modern eyes makes you think, 'date rape', but the characters are fairly innocent; even when Jake asks Ted to drive Caroline home, we know Ted wouldn't really do anything bad with her. He is essentially a nice guy. Sure, he might take pictures of her drunk, but hey, they did a lot worse in Animal House, and I still love that film. The scenes with the parents work less well, too, but they are minor moments and don't distract from the overall experience.

Despite the minor racism and sexism, the film is still good fun, with plenty of memorable moments. Ted's dancing and bets with his friends (his face when they shout 'girls panties' is priceless), Caroline getting her hair caught in the door, the repeated appearances of both John and Joan Cusack, the jocks dropping the nerds home after the party, and pretty much the whole wedding with the out-of-it sister, Ginny (Blanche Baker; Raw Deal, The Handmaids Tale). The music keeps things lively too, with a soundtrack that includes: Spandau Ballet, Oingo Boingo, The Specials, Billy Idol, David Bowie and the Thompson Twins. Plus, it has one of the most iconic final shots of a romantic comedy, ever.

Overall, the film deserves its place in the ranks of 80's iconic memorabilia. Sure, modern audiences might find it strange seeing a PG film with nudity, constant sex references, racism and rampant sexism, but we were made of tougher stuff back then. We laughed instead of getting offended. It's a film about teenagers made for teenagers. It also happens to be a funny film, and one with lots of heart. Definitely worth your time revisiting if it has been a while.