Sixteen Candles

Release Year: 1984

Director: John Hughes

Review: 'Sixteen Candles' may be the perfect slice of the 80's.  It optimizes the brat pack and is one of the best films of the Hughes era.  Sure, on the surface its just a traditional high school story, but no Hughes film is surface deep.  A girl, Samantha (Molly Ringwald), is a completely unremarkable teenage girl. So forgettable that even her parents don't even remember her sixteenth birthday.  To top it off she is in love with the most popular boy in school who she fears doesn't even know she exists.  It's a familiar story, but it's not the plot of the movie which makes it great, its the presence is exudes.

This movie oozes 80s culture.  The references and styles might be dated, but at its core it stands the test of time.  There is something comforting knowing that you can always revisit these characters and get that same familiar dose of nostalgia.  There is a purity to the emotions and dialog that make you feel like you could fit into their world despite being in a different time.  It may be cliched, but 'Sixteen Candles' boils down the high school movie into its essential and most enjoyable basic ingredients.  It is simultaneous defined by its era and timeless. Like so many Hughes films, its one I will continue to revisit.
Rating: 4/5