Sixteen Candles

PG

Now Playing

1 hr. 30 min.

Comedy

List

81%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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 turnoff 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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Paige

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!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/20/23

Full Review

Miriam B

Still great after all these years

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/23

Full Review

James McCurley

Great movie! Love flashback cinema

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/23

Full Review

Mike P

Samantha Baker, a typical Chicago suburban teen from the 80s, finds out everything is going wrong on her 16th birthday...Except that ironically, on this, the worst day of her life, the boy of her dreams, Jake Ryan, has finally noticed her... So...At the time when this came out; this was considered to be "Animal House with a Heart" with the critics. You have to look at this through that lense...It was a teen raunch-party movie that also allowed for some compassion and depth for it's lead characters, not just a raunchy, iconoclastic, sex themed farce. (Compare this with a similarly themed movie that came out that year, Bachelor Party; for example; which was another Animal House type party- farce; focusing on a lot of parties and pranks and mischief making...And two guys fighting over the same girl...Etc... But whereas THAT was much ado about nothing and had no soul...THIS movie actually CARED about it's characters...And represented a maturing of Hollywood's tastes in this type of storytelling)... And the kids LOVED 16 Candles because it appealed to both their partying, rebellious sensibilities; but also loved the characters enough to pay attention to their issues and give them a real happy ending. It was just the right combination of sweet and sour...That's why kids all adopted this movie at the time as THE big YA rom/com...But no one was really prepared for what John Hughes did next...Because if 16 Candles tweaked the formula Hollywood teen drama; The Breakfast Club completely revolutionized it. Overall: Thumbs up 👍 Fun and adventuresome teen farce is entertaining; and it also has it's fair share of cringe; but overall it's a warm comedy about coming of age with it's heart in the right place. With fantastic star making performances by both Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall; in a clear prototype for Ferris Buehler... Also a must for 80s Nostalgia Fans...Infact the Hughes Teen Movie Trilogy is universally recognized now as THE most important movies in Hollywood's coming-of-age cannon. Highly Recommended

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/24

Full Review

Thu H

The stupidest movie I've ever watch, I couldn't even laugh because it was so stupid. Hate the way the movie forcefully makes fun of Asian people and even the way the characters in the movie are as stupid as they've ever been.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Robert L

One of the best 80s teen movies. Nostalgia is off the charts!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/24

Full Review

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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

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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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Neil Jillett

The Age (Australia)

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.

May 3, 2022

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Watch with compassion.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 22, 2019

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

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.

Jul 18, 2007

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

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

Rated: 3/4

Oct 26, 2020

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

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

Rated: 8/10

Sep 7, 2020

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Meandering and kind of dull and doesn't quite manage to be as sweet as its romantic final scene.

Jul 30, 2020

Full Review

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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 turnoff 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
Executive Producer: Ned Tanen
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
Sound Mix: Stereo

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