Sixteen Candles

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Sixteen Candles

PG

1984

1h 30m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha (Molly Ringwald) faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake (Michael Schoeffling), but worries that her chastity will be a turn-off for the popular senior. Meanwhile, Samantha must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), the only boy in the school, unfortunately, who seems to take an interest in her.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Neil Jillett

The Age (Australia)

05/03/2022

Its Middle American cast of plastic females and self-regarding males look and behave like delegates to a Republican convention. The slight plot is strung out on a series of gross jokes.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

07/22/2019

4/5

Watch with compassion.

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Variety Staff

Variety

07/18/2007

There's also a darkly handsome high school heartbreak kid (Michael Schoeffling), a merciful brisk pace, some quick humor (visual and verbal), and a solid music track.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 11

2.5/4

The plotting is crude and haphazard, but the dialogue is amusing and the cast is appealing.

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Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

10/26/2020

3/4

Sixteen Candles is a genuinely funny film with plenty of throwaway gags that betray Hughes' Lampoon origins.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

09/07/2020

8/10

At times it's laugh-out-loud funny, highlighting the awkwardness of adolescence through alternations of clumsiness, low self-esteem, and misadventures of maturation.

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Paige

03/20/2023

Perfect story, acting, and casting. I was 14 years old when this movie came out back in 1984. Sadly, I missed seeing it in the theatre when all my girlfriends went together cuz I was on a date (Im just now realizing that my parents let me date at 14?!? What were they thinking?). Anyway, my girlfriends talked about the movie for months and months and I couldnt wait for it to finally be released to video it seemed to take forever! Fast forward to 2023 and Im taking my 14-year old son to see Sixteen Candles for the first time today. Wow, even though Ive seen it 100or maybe 1000 times on TV, what an incredible experience it was to watch it in the theater for the first timeAND with my teenaged son by my side! He LOVED the movie, just like his mom! Maybe in 40 years, my son will be taking his son or daughter to watch Sixteen Candles for the first time, too! Grandma (yours truly) will be there melting over Jake Ryan, just like she did in the good old days!

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Miriam B

03/19/2023

Still great after all these years

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James McCurley

03/19/2023

Great movie! Love flashback cinema

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Jacob H.

@RT34626939 May 31

Another classic. Great subplots.

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Rich L.

@turnerfan77 Apr 9

We can all agree that John Hughes is a great filmmaker with that said it’s been a few decades since the last time I watched Sixteen Candles and unfortunately it wasn’t as good as I remember it being. I found it boring and the story felt uneven at times. The best parts of the movie are the Anthony Michael Hall’s scenes. There is just something missing from this movie that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s lacking the charm of his other films. This is one I won’t be revisiting for a long time. By The Numbers breakdown: Cast-10 Acting-5 Trailer-5 Ending-5 Story-5 Visuals-5 Direction-5 Sound-5 Genre-5 Sub Genre-5 The Faces For Radio score - 55

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mark g

@Mark_Alan_G. Feb 15

For the record, I am not a big John Hughes fan. However, this was a great movie. And I love that by today's standards, it is very politically incorrect. But that's the way we used to be, and we liked it. This movie is what you call escapist fun.

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John Hughes

Director

Molly Ringwald

Samantha Baker

Anthony Michael Hall

Farmer Ted, 'The Geek'

Michael Schoeffling

Jake Ryan

Paul Dooley

Jim Baker

Justin Henry

Mike Baker

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Can I Borrow Your Underpants for 10 Minutes?

2:32

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - The Crazy Party

2:27

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Drunk as a Skunk

1:49

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Jake & Caroline Break Up

2:19

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Sam's First Kiss

2:50

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - They Forgot My Birthday

2:35

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Here Comes the Tipsy Bride

2:13

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - The Geek and The Panties

2:16

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - The Geek Dances

2:33

Sixteen Candles: Official Clip - Am I Turning You On?

1:57

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Synopsis

With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha (Molly Ringwald) faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake (Michael Schoeffling), but worries that her chastity will be a turn-off for the popular senior. Meanwhile, Samantha must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), the only boy in the school, unfortunately, who seems to take an interest in her.

Director: John Hughes
Producer: Hilton A. Green
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Distributor: Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 4, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Stereo