Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Directorial Debut: John Hughes' SIXTEEN CANDLES


Welcome to another installment of DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, where we look at some of the best, most interesting, and iconic directors and the films that started their careers. This week we take a look at John Hughes's teen classic, SIXTEEN CANDLES.

 John Hughes is synonymous with coming of age comedies in the 1980's. Sixteen Candles helped launch the careers of the young cast, including Molly Ringwald, John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Anthony Michael Hall. Ringwald and Hall also appeared together in The Breakfast Club.

What was so special about Sixteen Candles? Young people at the time were able to identify with the characters as they tried to make it through high school in one piece. How many of us girls have had a nerdy guy annoy us, while we are only interested in the captain of the football team? High school is full of heartbreak and having to live up to the expectations of our parents and peers.

I was able to relate to Molly Ringwald's character, Sam, the most. She was not the most popular girl and was overlooked at times. Like most girls in high school she had a crush on a popular jock. In this case, it was Jake Ryan. He knew of Sam, but he had a girlfriend named Caroline. However, that wasn't a match made in heaven. To make things worse, Sam's family forgets her birthday, something devastating to any young person.

John Hughes used the high school stereotypes to his advantage in other films as well, including Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club. Every director has a muse and Hughes's was Molly Ringwald. She played the unpopular teen in Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. However, Hughes switched it up and had her play pristine little rich girl Claire in The Breakfast Club.

Sixteen Candles was the first of a series of successful films for John Hughes. Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire and The Breakfast Club owe their success to Sixteen Candles. Hughes was great at conveying teenage angst onscreen.

In 2001, Not Another Teen Movie, a spoof of all the stereotypes used in teen movies, actually had Molly Ringwald do a cameo, as well as Paul Gleason, who reprised his role as Richard Vernon from The Breakfast Club. It just goes to show that John Hughes's ability to influence another generation of teenagers was strong.

Lisa's Score: 8/10


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