Sixteen Candles

"Turning sixteen isn't easy, when you've fallen in love... for the first time."

1984 1h 33m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

81%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 2,275🍅81%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★7IMDB · 134,323

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“Turning sixteen isn't easy, when you've fallen in love... for the first time.”

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Cast

Molly Ringwald
Samantha Baker
Michael Schoeffling
Jake Ryan
Haviland Morris
Caroline Mulford
Gedde Watanabe
Long Duk Dong
Anthony Michael Hall
Geek (Ted)
Justin Henry
Mike Baker
Paul Dooley
Jim Baker
Carlin Glynn
Brenda Baker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Hughes
Writers: John Hughes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Hughes, shot by Bobby Byrne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ira Newborn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edward Warschilka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Molly Ringwald and Michael Schoeffling and Haviland Morris carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Turning sixteen isn't easy, when you've fallen in love... for the first time.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0088128 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Hughes directs. Bobby Byrne behind the camera. Ira Newborn scores. Edward Warschilka cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.
242 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by John Hughes, shot by Bobby Byrne. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ira Newborn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Edward Warschilka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Molly Ringwald and Michael Schoeffling and Haviland Morris carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Turning sixteen isn't easy, when you've fallen in love... for the first time.".
8IMDB entry: tt0088128 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "high school", "birthday", "nerd", "convertible".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bobby Byrne
Original score: Ira Newborn
Editing: Edward Warschilka
Production design: John W. Corso
Costume design: Mark Peterson
Makeup / hair: Rodger Jacobs
Sound: Robert J. Litt
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,500,000
Box office: $23,686,027
Return: 364% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Sixteen Candles (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 134,323 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

John Hughes

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-04-12
★ 7/10
I've never bagged a babe. I'm not a stud. It's Samantha Baker's 16th birthday and her family are so wrapped up in her sisters impending wedding, they have completely forgotten Sam's big day. Not only that but she has the hots for school hunk Jake Ryan who, apparently doesn't know she even exists. Her existence, however, is noted by freshman Ted "The Geek" who lusts after her at every opportunity. Being 16 really isn't all it's cracked up to be, maybe? John Hughes directs his first feature film and sets out his marker for the career that was to come for the astute observer of teen angst and coming of age drama. Featuring Hughes faves Molly Ringwald (Sam0 & Anthony Michael Hall (Ted), Sixteen Candles is frothy on the outside but not without cunning substance on the inside. It's the sort of film that is easy to forgive its obviousness on account of its understanding of its characters, something that Hughes was a master of. Even as we run through the staple requirements of the teen comedy movie (dance, party, making out etc ) Hughes manages to avoid the cliché pitfalls of such sequences by fuelling them with believable patois. His cast, with the exception of the dull Michael Schoeffling (Jake), are sparky and engaging throughout. With the Cusack siblings, John & Joan also showing up in the strong supporting cast. There's an Asian exchange student thread that some have tried to paint as stereotypically offencive, but that is nonsense! Gedde Watanabe ensures the role is the fun and harmless one it's meant to be. The soundtrack is kicking and very at one with the story (another knack of Hughes), it features the likes of The Specials, The Revillos, Billy Idol, The Stray Cats and The Thompson Twins. And the Evanston, Illinois location work really fleshes out the feeling of the piece. Not just a film for 80s nostalgists then, one for pretty much anyone who was 16 and had their emotions pulled all over the place. 7/10
JPV8522020-06-29
★ 8/10
Really fun, and funny, romantic-comedy that is to me akin to Ferris Bueller's Day Off style of humor from John Hughes (vs. something like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink with a more serious tone or themes). Anyway, this was my first time seeing this and while I still place TBC and FBDO over this, still another great film from Hughes to come out of the 80s and, like those, still works so well today. 4.0/5