Sixteen Candles (1984) "Can I be honest with you?"

“It's really human of you to listen to all my bullshit.” -Samantha

Awww, your right it was, because there was a lot of it! Okay, maybe I’m being a little too harsh, but come on! When the movie ended, the only thing I said was, “Oh, please!” The movie was pretty good and did have funny moments, but it went downhill for me near the end. The movie starts on Samantha’s (Molly Ringwald) sixteenth birthday. Her wonderful, best-in-the-world parents and family members completely forget about it. Her sister is getting married the next day, so what else should matter, right? The film follows her through the day of her birthday and her sister’s wedding. A new, geeky freshman, Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) falls for Samantha, but she is in love with Jake (Michael Schoeffling), a senior who does not know she exists. When he finally does, he decides that Samantha is the one for him and the movie ends with the pair finally talking and sharing a kiss.
Ummm, whoa, this ending was just too unrealistic and abrupt for me. Of course this is how I wanted the film to end, but the way it got to this point did not seem plausible. It either needed to be more ridiculous and less serious, so the inconsistencies did not matter, or more time needed to be spent on the ending. There was all this build-up of Samantha’s feelings for Jake, but then everything else just happened, instantly. Snap your fingers and Jake now likes her too. Snap, they are in the same place, and snap, they are together and it’s over. For so much beginning, the finale went nowhere and just …ended. It did not seem even vaguely believable. More time spent on the development of the relationship would have helped. I mean when does being starred at constantly make you think that person is wonderful and not scary? And when does the popular girl look past the fact that she was tricked by a geek and decide she likes him? If these events did not just happen out of the blue, they would seem more realistic. Something else stuck out and bothered me. Now this has nothing to do with the plot and probably has to do with the time, but either way it got under my skin. The students did not really seem to have backpacks. I need a frickin pack mule for all my stuff! What has the world come to?!? The characters were the best part of the film. They were portrayed well, quite humorous, and made a valiant attempt at making the audience ignore the plot problems. A creep is not usually likeable, I mean I have never met one in person who is, but Ted found this perfect balance and was loveable. Samantha’s brother did a good job of being the snotty little brother, yet did not fall into the category of simply stereotypical, which is impressive for someone his age. In general, all of the characters did a fine job, partially, I believe, due to the fact that all of the characters had a fault. Some were obvious, as was Ted’s pushiness, but others were not right in your face, as with Samantha’s pity parties. No one is perfect - it was nice to see a cast that reflected this.


Of the blog movies I have watched so far, this is the most representative of the 80’s, from its dress and hair to its lingo. I would recommend the movie, not because I thought it was the best movie ever created, but because it is a popular 80’s cultural film. People should be exposed to these types of movies from all decades.