Sixteen Candles

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Sixteen Candles
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Hughes
Produced by	Hilton A. Green Michelle Manning Ned Tanen
Written by	John Hughes
Starring	Molly Ringwald Justin Henry Michael Schoeffling Haviland Morris Gedde Watanabe Anthony Michael Hall
Music by	Ira Newborn
Cinematography	Bobby Byrne
Editing by	Edward Warschillka
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	May 4, 1984
Running time	93 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6,500,000
Gross revenue	$23,686,027

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles is a 1984 coming-of-age film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. The film was written and directed by John Hughes.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Filming locations 4 Rating 5 Reception 6 Sequel 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

Awkward high school sophomore Samantha "Sam" Baker (Molly Ringwald) struggles to get through the day of her sixteenth birthday, which her entire family forgets because her older sister, Ginny (Blanche Baker), is getting married the next day. She is also plagued by her ongoing infatuation with the very popular and very attractive senior, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). Her day at school fares no better when she finds out that her completed "sex quiz," which she surreptitiously slipped to her friend, never reached her (and, unbeknownst to either of them, was picked up by Jake Ryan himself). Sam panics as the quiz contains personal information, including the fact that she is a virgin and is saving herself for Jake.

She has a whole new set of problems when she arrives home to find that both sets of grandparents are staying at the Baker home for the duration of the wedding visit. On top of it all, one set of grandparents brings along bizarre foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe). Sam's grandparents force her to take him along to her school dance that night and, to Sam's amazement, it takes "The Donger" only five hours to find an unlikely girlfriend — the tallish, large-breasted jock, Marlene, promptly nicknamed "Lumberjack." After some ensuing madness with everyone involved, Sam's family eventually makes up before the wedding and apologizes for forgetting her birthday.

A running subplot involves a geeky freshman (Anthony Michael Hall) who continually (and unsuccessfully) tries to bed his love interest, Sam, to satisfy a bet with his friends. The character's name is never given explicitly, but it may be "Ted," as he corrects Sam that his name is "Ted" when she calls him "Farmer Fred" and adds, "I'm not really a farmer, I'm a freshman." Bryce also calls him "Ted" immediately before he shows Sam's panties in the bathroom. He is credited solely as "the Geek."

In the auto-shop room during the dance, Sam and Ted begin talking and Sam confesses her love for Jake. Upon hearing this, he tells her that Jake had been asking about her at the dance, and they agree that Sam should just go and talk to him. As she's leaving, he reveals the wager to Sam, who, in her excited state, agrees to loan him her underwear to help him win a dozen floppy disks.

Later (after a peepshow of Sam's underpants for $1 admission, which she does not find out about until the next day), Ted and his equally unwelcome friends, Cliff (Darren Harris) and Bryce (John Cusack), crash the senior after-party at Jake's house — during which the entire house is completely trashed. At night's end, Jake finds Ted trapped under a table and they begin to talk. Jake inquires further about Sam; Ted explains the situation. Jake makes a deal with Ted: If Ted lets Jake keep Sam's panties, then he will let Ted drive home his inebriated, stuck-up, prom queen girlfriend, Carolyn Mulford (Haviland Morris), in Jake's father's Rolls Royce. Jake later uses the excuse of finding them together to break up with Carolyn(who had surprisingly fallen for Ted, and thus doesn't mind the break-up very much). Afterward, Jake drives to the church just in time to meet an incredulous Sam after her sister's wedding. The movie concludes with them sharing a kiss over a birthday cake with 16 candles.

[edit] Cast

Main characters:^[1]

• Molly Ringwald as Samantha Baker
• Justin Henry as Mike Baker
• Michael Schoeffling as Jake Ryan
• Anthony Michael Hall as Farmer Ted, aka "The Geek"
• Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong
• Haviland Morris as Carolyn Mulford
• Paul Dooley as Jim Baker
• Carlin Glynn as Brenda Baker
• Blanche Baker as Ginny Baker
• Edward Andrews as Grandpa Howard Baker
• Billie Bird as Grandma Dorothy Baker
• Carole Cook as Grandma Helen
• Max Showalter as Grandpa Fred
• Liane Alexandra Curtis as Randy
• John Cusack as Bryce
• Darren Harris as Cliff
• Deborah Pollack as Marlene, aka "Lumberjack"
• Joan Cusack as Geek Girl #1
• John Kapelos as Rudy Rizchecs

[edit] Filming locations

Sixteen Candles was filmed primarily in and around the Chicago North Shore suburban community of Evanston, Illinois during the summer of 1983.^[2] Most of the exterior scenes and some of the interior scenes were filmed at Niles East High School,^[3] close to downtown Skokie, the setting for Hall's driving the Rolls-Royce.^[4] A cafeteria scene, gym scene, and auto shop scene were filmed at Niles North High School. The Baker house is located on the 3000 block of Payne St. in Evanston. The church and parking lot where the final scenes take place is in Glencoe.^[5]

[edit] Rating

The film — released eight weeks prior to the establishment of the PG-13 rating^[6] — was originally rated R by the MPAA, and then re-rated PG on appeal.^[7]

[edit] Reception

Sixteen Candles was well-received by critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 90% of critics gave it a positive rating, based on 30 reviews.^[8] Ringwald's performance was especially praised.^[9]; Roger Ebert wrote that she "provides a perfect center for the story".^[10] The character of Long Duk Dong was criticized for being offensive.^[11] Ebert, however, defended him, writing that Gedde Watanabe "elevates his role from a potentially offensive stereotype to high comedy".^[10]

This movie ranked number 49 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.^[12]

Sixteen Candles was a moderate success at the box office, grossing $23,686,027.^[13]

[edit] Sequel

In 2005, Ringwald was reported to be producing a sequel to the film.^[14] As of July 2008^[update], Ringwald is still interested in a sequel, but will not proceed without the involvement of John Hughes.^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Sixteen Candles DVD Official Universal Site
• Sixteen Candles at the Internet Movie Database
• Sixteen Candles at Rotten Tomatoes
• Sixteen Candles at Box Office Mojo
• Sixteen Candles at Allmovie
• Sixteen Candles quotes at MovieWavs.com
• Sixteen Candles at The 80s Movie Rewind
• "Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of Sixteen Candles" article

v • d • e John Hughes As director and writer Sixteen Candles (1984) • The Breakfast Club (1985) • Weird Science (1985) • Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) • Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) • She's Having a Baby (1988) • Uncle Buck (1989) • Curly Sue (1991) As writer only National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982) • Mr. Mom (1983) • National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) • Nate and Hayes (1983) • Pretty in Pink (1986) • Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) • The Great Outdoors (1988) • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) • Home Alone (1990) • Career Opportunities (1991) • Dutch (1991) • Beethoven (1992) • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) • Dennis the Menace (1993) • Baby's Day Out (1994) • Miracle on 34th Street (1994) • 101 Dalmatians (1996) • Flubber (1997) • Home Alone 3 (1997) • Reach the Rock (1998) • Just Visiting (2001) • Maid in Manhattan (2002) • Drillbit Taylor (2008)