Sixteen Candles (1984)
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A teenage girl's 16th birthday is overshadowed by her sister's wedding, leading to a series of complications involving her secret crush and a persistent classmate.
The story
In suburban Chicago, high school sophomore Samantha Baker celebrates her 16th birthday, only to find her family has forgotten the occasion because her older sister is getting married the next day. While at school, Sam navigates her feelings for a senior named Jake Ryan while being pursued by a persistent freshman, Ted. Her situation becomes increasingly complicated when her grandparents and a foreign exchange student take over her bedroom, forcing her to sleep on the sofa. As the wedding preparations and social pressures mount, Sam must navigate the complexities of her social life and her feelings for Jake amidst the chaos of her family's priorities.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In suburban Chicago, Samantha Baker's 16th birthday is ignored by her family due to her sister Ginny's upcoming wedding. At school, Sam admits her crush on Jake Ryan to a friend, while Jake is frustrated by his girlfriend Caroline's behavior. Sam's home life is disrupted when her grandparents and a foreign exchange student, Long Duk Dong, take over her room. At a school dance, Sam is pursued by Ted, who makes a bet with friends to get her underwear. After a series of mishaps, including a wild party at Jake's house where Caroline is left intoxicated, Ted and Jake eventually swap information about Sam's feelings. Jake realizes he no longer wants to be with Caroline. On the morning of the wedding, Jake visits Sam's house, where they finally connect. He gives her a cake with 16 candles and her underwear, and they share a kiss.
- First release year
- 1984
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Hughes
- Writers
- John Hughes · writer
- Cast and characters
- Molly Ringwald · Samantha Baker; Michael Schoeffling · Jake Ryan; Anthony Michael Hall · Ted "The Geek" Farmer
- Genres
- coming-of-age; teen comedy; romance
- Themes
- coming-of-age; adolescent behavior; romance
- Tone and mood
- comedy; light; heartfelt
- Premise and plot tags
- high school; birthday; wedding; teen romance
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised Ringwald's performance, and was a box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 81% · scale: percentage · review count: 43; Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to be a low-budget production.; The film was initially rated R by the MPAA but was successfully appealed to PG.; A television series based on the film entered development in 2022.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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