Review of Sixteen Candles (1984) by Brian H — 18 Oct 2009

Considering I'm a child of the '80's, it's pretty amazing that I've never seen this movie until now. Maybe it's because I was busy watching Ferris Bueller and Back to The Future for the 600th time.

I think Sixteen Candles may have appealed to teenage girls more than boys, but it's still a fun romp. It's definitely dated, but that's part of its charm now. Molly Ringwald is irresistible as she deals with her parent's forgetting her 16th birthday, the school geek's aggressive passes, and her impossible crush on the popular jock.

All the cliches and stereotypes are here but in some way it feels like this film helped create them. Anthony Michael Hall is amazing as the Geek and he seems to be the coolest un-cool kid I've ever seen.

And even though the ending is rather predictable, you still hopes he gets the girl (and not the bimbo!) Even having seen this for the first time, it feels like I've been watching it my whole life.

It has that comfortable, semi-absurd '80's feel. The film does get a little silly and starts to fall apart toward the rather abrupt ending, but what's a good 80's teen comedy without a little silliness?