{"id":7468,"date":"2009-06-16T10:07:17","date_gmt":"2009-06-16T17:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7468"},"modified":"2021-01-30T15:42:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T22:42:03","slug":"sixteen-candles-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7468","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen Candles (1984)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;This is the single worst day of my entire life.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster-175x270.jpg 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Poster.jpg 489w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA teenager (Molly Ringwald) who is upset that no one in her family remembers her sixteenth birthday lusts after a hunky classmate (Michael Schoeffling), but must deal instead with the attentions of an insistent geek (Anthony Michael Hall).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>High School<\/li>\n<li>Misfits<\/li>\n<li>Teenagers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIn his directorial debut, writer-director John Hughes is, as Peary notes, moderately successful in &#8220;making a comedy out of teenage angst, pain, and insensitivity&#8221;. Ringwald is &#8220;absolutely <em>fantastic<\/em> [at] presenting a <em>real<\/em>, special teenager&#8221; &#8212; and while she&#8217;s not always likable (she &#8220;can be cruel &#8212; as she reveals in her insults toward Hall&#8221;), most will be able to relate to at least one of her many pressing adolescent dilemmas. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-1024x562.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-1024x562.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-768x421.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-1536x842.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2-492x270.png 492w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald2.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Equally enjoyable is Anthony Michael Hall as The Geek &#8212; a larger-than-life comedic foil who emerges as an empathetic character, and is someone we can&#8217;t help liking and rooting for; his interactions with Ringwald are the highlights of the film. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-1024x560.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"350\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-1024x560.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-1536x839.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall-494x270.png 494w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall.png 1839w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, much of the screenplay is far too sophomoric to appeal to anyone but younger audiences &#8212; all scenes featuring Gedde Watanabe&#8217;s infamous Asian exchange student, Long Duk Dong, for instance, are particularly cringe-worthy. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-1024x556.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-1024x556.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-1536x833.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Gedde.png 1823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>However, <em>Sixteen Candles<\/em> should probably be seen once by all film fanatics simply for its historical relevance as the first of Hughes&#8217; series of groundbreaking teenage films. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Michael Hall as &#8220;The Geek&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-1024x555.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"347\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-1024x555.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-1536x833.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Hall3.png 1831w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Molly Ringwald as Samantha (Peary nominates her for an <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\">Alternate Oscar<\/a> as Best Actress of the Year)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-1536x855.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-485x270.png 485w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Ringwald.png 1801w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Paul Dooley as Samantha&#8217;s father<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-1024x551.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-1024x551.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-768x413.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-1536x826.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley-502x270.png 502w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Sixteen-Candles-Dooley.png 1843w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical importance as Hughes&#8217; directorial debut. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0088128\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1984\/05\/04\/movies\/screen-16-candles-a-teen-age-comedy.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reelviews.net\/php_review_template.php?identifier=1640\">James Berardinelli&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/sixteen-candles-1984\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This is the single worst day of my entire life.&#8221; Synopsis: A teenager (Molly Ringwald) who is upset that no one in her family remembers her sixteenth birthday lusts after a hunky classmate (Michael Schoeffling), but must deal instead with the attentions of an insistent geek (Anthony Michael Hall). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Comedy High School Misfits Teenagers Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: In his directorial debut, writer-director John Hughes is, as Peary notes, moderately successful in &#8220;making a comedy&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=7468\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7468"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67136,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468\/revisions\/67136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}