A high school girl's sixteenth birthday is anything but special, her family forgets about it while preparing for her older sister's wedding, the boy she has a crush on has a girlfriend, and ... Read allA high school girl's sixteenth birthday is anything but special, her family forgets about it while preparing for her older sister's wedding, the boy she has a crush on has a girlfriend, and she suffers from multitude of embarrassments.A high school girl's sixteenth birthday is anything but special, her family forgets about it while preparing for her older sister's wedding, the boy she has a crush on has a girlfriend, and she suffers from multitude of embarrassments.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Debbie Pollack
- Lumberjack
- (as Deborah Pollack)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Featured reviews
You own a church?
This movie is one of the most quotable I've ever seen. Everyone who has ever seen it knows this is true. Along with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club", this is the best of the John Hughes 1980's movies. The acting is perfection, down to the smallest parts, too. Standouts are Blanche Baker as the bride-to-be on too many painkillers, Justin Henry as the pain-in-the-neck little brother, Michael Schoeffling as hunk-deluxe Jake Ryan and last but never least, Anthony Michael Hall as Farmer Fred....I mean Ted.
my opinion of it....
movies in the 80's were really cool, nice story lines, very real people and cute guys too! 80's movies were so musical, full of dance and laughter, really good acting and good use of props. I wish movies were like the old classic movies, movies nowadays are somewhat a rip off, i'm not saying all but most movies made in this era are all computerized, there's so much plastic surgery happening, drastic diets, if you look back at the old movies, the ladies are really beautiful naturally, nice hair, and the spark in those eyes, men were romantic. I watched Sixteen Candles for the first time, and i enjoyed it. I liked Pretty in Pink better though. Sixteen candles is a really funny yet in a sweet romantic sort of way....the geeks and the Duck guy, hilarious! i enjoy watching classic movies, eg. dirty dancing, ghost, gremlin, pretty in pink, ghost busters.... I wouldn't recommend this movie to kids 14+, especially if you don't like watching classic movies. But to those out there who were teens in the 80s, this might bring back your high school memories. Truly hilarious, you can predict the ending, the geeks took the spotlight for me
The eighties were great weren't they
Films like Sixteen Candles personify what the eighties was all about. And if you were a child of the 80s, you will probably identify with this film a lot more than the now younger generation. The story is simple enough, but it works so well. Molly Ringwald is particularly likeable in this, and she is almost irreplaceable in her part. There are heaps of familiar faces, including small parts from many of the present day 'movie stars' ie John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Jami Gertz. It's kind of daggy though, and when you tell people you watched it their response is usually "Oh My God. That is so OLD." But that's what I like about it. If you want to watch a film that reflects the eighties, forget the nostalgia trips of The Wedding Singer and Romy and Michelle. Hire a true eighties product, such as Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, St Elmo's Fire.... The list goes on and on.
Now we're both on the pill!
I had to write about this film after seeing the last 10 minutes of it on TV last night. I didn't miss much after all cause I had seen the film countless times when I was younger. Man I remember how much I enjoyed it. This has to be the most 80's character driven film about high school I have ever seen. It is just plain out stupid funny and heartwarming.
While Breakfast Club tries to handle the seriousness of social peers, and Ferris Beuller just solidifies the ultimate 80's experience with some great performances and total hip coolness, Sixteen Candles is just a crazy fun romp through the perils of being a teenager.
Ringwald is at her prime as the overburdened teenager, and Michael Hall is at his greatest as the ultimate schemer-geek. The party aftermath always cracks me up everytime I see it, plus so many more things.
Also, there's a scene where the geek gets unloaded out of the trunk of a car, and i SWEAR it's not a human person but a dummy cause the guy does not move but stands like a broomstick.. It's just one of those bizarre movie qwerks I wish someone could explain to me. And who can forget those alligator shirts.... I laugh now at the way everyone and the bands look in these 80's movies.
Alas it seems, Hall and Ringwald got stuck in stereotyped roles that they never seemed to shed or outgrew them as they became adults, which is to bad cause Ringwald, and particularly Hall's comedic sense of timing in this film is just amazing.
Rating 8 out of 10.
While Breakfast Club tries to handle the seriousness of social peers, and Ferris Beuller just solidifies the ultimate 80's experience with some great performances and total hip coolness, Sixteen Candles is just a crazy fun romp through the perils of being a teenager.
Ringwald is at her prime as the overburdened teenager, and Michael Hall is at his greatest as the ultimate schemer-geek. The party aftermath always cracks me up everytime I see it, plus so many more things.
Also, there's a scene where the geek gets unloaded out of the trunk of a car, and i SWEAR it's not a human person but a dummy cause the guy does not move but stands like a broomstick.. It's just one of those bizarre movie qwerks I wish someone could explain to me. And who can forget those alligator shirts.... I laugh now at the way everyone and the bands look in these 80's movies.
Alas it seems, Hall and Ringwald got stuck in stereotyped roles that they never seemed to shed or outgrew them as they became adults, which is to bad cause Ringwald, and particularly Hall's comedic sense of timing in this film is just amazing.
Rating 8 out of 10.
It's carbon dated
"Sixteen Candles" was a great movie from the land that was the 80's. All the girls from my work were talking about the 80's teen flicks and how much they loved them. I had never seen a Molly Ringwald film, after all I'm only 20. But the girls were still incredibly shocked when I told them, they told me that they will not respect my movie opinions until I saw all the teen flicks from the 80's. We're talking crazy here people: Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Say Anything, Weird Science, etc.
So far now I have seen the major Molly Ringwald films. Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Sixteen Candles is a very cute film that came before the cliché 90's teen flicks. It's original and very funny. I think the reason why it's so popular, is because everyone can relate in some way to the characters. Molly, a shy ignored outcast, The Geek, well, he's a geek, the jock, he's expected to date and act a certain way. It goes on and on. I really enjoyed Sixteen Candles, well, I guess it's on the way to Say Anything! Wish me luck, y'all! :D
7/10
So far now I have seen the major Molly Ringwald films. Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Sixteen Candles is a very cute film that came before the cliché 90's teen flicks. It's original and very funny. I think the reason why it's so popular, is because everyone can relate in some way to the characters. Molly, a shy ignored outcast, The Geek, well, he's a geek, the jock, he's expected to date and act a certain way. It goes on and on. I really enjoyed Sixteen Candles, well, I guess it's on the way to Say Anything! Wish me luck, y'all! :D
7/10
Did you know
- TriviaAnthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald initially disliked each other, so John Hughes took them to a record store and they bonded after they found out they like the same music. One of the groups they liked was The Rave-Ups which Molly scribbled on Samantha's notebook.
- GoofsWhen the family is leaving for the wedding, the grandparents all pile into the car, but it was not large enough to accommodate the group. Grandma Baker squats near the passenger door to create the impression that she is sitting in the car. However, when the car is backing out of the driveway, you briefly see her curved back remain stationary while the car moves away from her.
- Alternate versionsVHS releases, cable TV broadcasts, and the initial DVD release change the majority of the soundtrack. The 2003 DVD and Blu-ray release restore the original theatrical soundtrack.
- ConnectionsEdited into Weird Science (1985)
- SoundtracksSnowballed
Written by Angus Young (uncredited), Malcolm Young (uncredited) and Brian Johnson (uncredited)
Performed by AC/DC
Courtesy of Leidseplein Presse B.V. / J. Albert Ltd.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $6,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $23,686,027
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,461,520
- May 6, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $23,686,027
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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