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John Hughes spirited teen comedy stars Molly Ringwald as Samantha Baker, an average teenage girl whose awkward trek through adolescence becomes unbearable when her parents forget her sixteenth birthday. To make matters worse the high school geek (Anthony Michael Hall) starts hitting on her while Samantha negotiates her own painful crush for the handsome but taken senior, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). Aside from some moments of broad slapstick and crass stereotypes, Hughes makes some pointed observations on the trials, rituals and tribulations of American teenagers and in the process created a teen icon out of his luminous lead Molly Ringwald. “Sixteen candles” was the beginning of a very lucrative career in teen movies for Hughes who cornered the market in the 80’s with such films as “The “Breakfast club”, “Pretty in pink” and “Ferris Buellers day off”. Cast also includes John Cusack, Justin Henry, Paul Dooley, Gedde Watanabe, Jami Gertz and Joan Cusack.
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Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
312003
Language
English
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Puberty rites
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Adolescence
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Teenagers
Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Schools - United States
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Adolescence
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Puberty rites
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenage girls
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Family relationships
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Sexual behavior
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Birthdays
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Puberty
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenage girls
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenagers
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Youth - Alcohol use
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)