This week’s movie
Synopsis
- In the classic 1984 teen comedy Sixteen Candles, high school sophomore Samantha Baker (played by Molly Ringwald) faces a chaotic birthday as her family forgets her 16th birthday amidst the excitement of her sister’s upcoming wedding. On top of being ignored at home, Samantha deals with the embarrassment of her secret crush on popular senior Jake Ryan, while fending off the relentless attention of an awkward freshman named Ted, also known as “The Geek.” Through a series of humorous and heartfelt events—including a disastrous school dance, a wild party, and unexpected connections—Samantha’s wish for recognition and romance finally comes true in a sweet and memorable ending. The film, directed by John Hughes, blends teen angst, humor, and heartfelt moments to capture the ups and downs of adolescence.
Actors & Crew
- Molly Ringwald – this is our second movie with Ms. Ringwald, but this movie came out prior to TBC, so we are seeing a fresher face in this film. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life before becoming a teen idol following her lead roles in John Hughes’s teen films Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink, .Ringwald was born in Roseville, California (basically. Sacramento), t Adele , a cook, and “Bob” Ringwald, a blind jazz pianist. Ringwald has two siblings, plus an older brother who died before she was born. She started her acting career at age five, appearing in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland as the Dormouse. Ringwald graduated from the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French Immersion School. Molly plays Sam Baker, who has just turned 16.
- Anthony Michael Hall – this is our third movie? With AMH and we did dive into his bio in Ep 12 – Weird Science. AMH plays “The Geek” – which is pretty self-explanatory.
- Michael Schoeffling – oooohhhhhh….the elusive and sexy Jake. Michael is a former actor and model. Schoeffling came to international prominence at the age of 23 for his role as Jake Ryan, the popular yet sensitive high school athlete on whom Molly Ringwald’s character has a crush on. After his acting career, Schoeffling opened a woodworking shop, married Kathryn Marty, and produced handcrafted furniture.
- We also have the Cusaks – John and Joan, Paul Dooley, Billie Bird, Carole Cook, Max Showalter and so many more. A+ casting on on this one.
Budget
- Budget $6.5 million
- Box office $23.6 million
Shooting Location:
- Sixteen Candles was filmed primarily in and around the Chicago North Shore suburban communities of Evanston, Skokie, and Highland Park, Illinois during the summer of 1983, Most of the exterior scenes and some of the interior scenes were filmed at Niles East High School, close to downtown Skokie, also the setting for Hall’s driving the Rolls-Royce. The Baker house is located at 3022 Payne Street in Evanston. The church (Glencoe Union Church at 263 Park Avenue) and parking lot where the final scenes take place are in Glencoe.
Critical Reception
- Rotten Tomatoes: The website’s critical consensus reads: “Significantly more mature than the teen raunch comedies that defined the era, Sixteen Candles is shot with compassion and clear respect for its characters and their hang-ups”.
- Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it “the best teenage comedy since last year’s Risky Business”, saying it was “certain to draw a lot of laughs, but the guess here is that it also will offer comfort to young girls and boys who feel awkward. And comfort and moments of recognition are in short supply in teenage movies, which often portray a world of violence and sexual mastery that is a lie.”
- Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker, “It doesn’t amount to much, and it’s certainly not to be confused with a work of art or a work of any depth, but the young writer-director John Hughes has a knack for making you like the high-school age characters better each time you hear them talk.”
- Roger Ebert wrote that she “provides a perfect center for the story” in “a sweet and funny movie”
