History YMMV / SixteenCandles

* ValuesDissonance: The male leads' casual encouragement of date rape is pretty cringeworthy nowadays.

* EthnicScrappy: Long Duk Dong is a sad latter-day example.

* UnfortunateImplications: It's been [[http://www.salon.com/2009/08/11/16_candles/ argued]] that the film tacitly endorses date rape. Jake tells Ted to take the drunk Caroline home, saying "she's so blitzed she won't know the difference". They end up having sex (initiated by Caroline) and she says next morning that she enjoyed it.
* TheWoobie: Sam. Her entire family forgets her 16th birthday because they're so focused on her older sister's wedding, and she's in love with Jake Ryan, who doesn't even know she exists.

* TheWoobie: Sam. Her entire family forgets her 16th birthday because they're so focused on her older sister's wedding, and she's in love with Jake Ryan, who doesn't even know she exists.

* CoolBigSis: Sam could be seen as this by her younger sister, Sara.
---> '''Mike:''' Who'd marry her?
---> '''Sara:''' [[TheATeam Mr. T]].
* ModernMinstrelsy: Long Duk Dong.

* ModernMinstrelsy: Again, Long Duk Dong.

* CrossesTheLineTwice - UnfortunateImplications: The shockingly racist portrayal of Long Duk Dong, whose scenes ''always'' open with a stereotypical "Chinese Gong." And that's the ''least'' offensive element that John Hughes incorporated into his character.
** DudeShesLikeInAComa is eventually sorta averted, but the movie implies a couple of times that there's nothing wrong with screwing unconscious people. First Jake wonders why he doesn't feel like going upstairs to have sex with the unconscious Caroline - it's not because that would be rape, it's just because he isn't into her anymore - and then he lets Ted drive her home, still unconscious, as a ''favor''. Why else would taking a drunk girl home be a fun thing to do?
*** To be fair though - Caroline apparently finds something enjoyable in the experience. In fact she seems a little bemused by how ''much'' she enjoyed it. Seeing how Anthony Michale Hall turned out she'd be wise to hang on to Ted.
**** Yeah, that doesn't make it better, since it basically plays into the old NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization. If Caroline was too drunk to consent, Ted is a rapist, period.
*** Actually, Jake never actually says he's ever taken advantage of Caroline in this state, he just says he ''could''. He may have even been playing things up in front of Ted.
** As well as the casual throwing around of 'fags' when these days 'sissy' or 'lamer' would be have been used instead for censorship. Never mind that it's still a pretty common insult to get under one's skin quickly in middle and high schools.
** Almost everything listed above is essentially a more recent instance of ValuesDissonance than most examples (still doesn't excuse it in the slightest, though).

** Everything listed above is essentially a more recent instance of ValuesDissonance than most examples (time does march on).

* CrossesTheLineTwice - UnfortunateImplications - The shockingly racist portrayal of Long Duk Dong, whose scenes ''always'' open with a stereotypical "Chinese Gong." And that's the ''least'' offensive element that John Hughes incorporated into his character.
** DudeShesLikeInAComa is eventually sorta averted, but the movie implies a couple of times that there's nothing wrong with screwing unconcious people. First Jake wonders why he doesn't feel like going upstairs to have sex with the unconcious Caroline - it's not because that would be rape, it's just because he isn't into her anymore - and then he lets Ted drive her home, still unconcious, as a ''favour''. Why else would taking a drunk girl home be a fun thing to do?

** You could say it's all a more contemporary instance of ValuesDissonance (time does march on).

*** Actually, Jake never actually says he's ever taken advantage of Caroline in this state, he just says he ''could''. He may have even been plying things up in front of Ted.

*** To be fair though - Caroline apparently finds something enjoyable in the experience. In fact she seems a little bemused by how ''much'' she enjoyed it. Seeing how Michael Anthony Hall turned out she'd be wise to hang on to Ted.

* TheWoobie: Sam.

** This Troper is Asian-American and found Dong's scenes to be friggin' hilarious (maybe just because of personel NWordPrivileges).

* {{Adorkable}} -- Long Duk Dong.

* UnfortunateImplications - The shockingly racist portrayal of Long Duk Dong, whose scenes ''always'' open with a stereotypical "Chinese Gong." And that's the ''least'' offensive element that John Hughes incorporated into his character.

** DudeShe'sLikeInAComa is eventually sorta averted, but the movie implies a couple of times that there's nothing wrong with screwing unconcious people. First Jake wonders why he doesn't feel like going upstairs to have sex with the unconcious Caroline - it's not because that would be rape, it's just because he isn't into her anymore - and then he lets Ted drive her home, still unconcious, as a ''favour''. Why else would taking a drunk girl home be a fun thing to do?

** This Troper is Asian-American and found Dong's scenes to be friggin' hilarious (maybe just because of personel NWordPrivileges).

* UnfortunateImplications - The shockingly racist portrayal of Long Duk Dong, whose scenes ''always'' open with a stereotypical "Chinese Gong." And that's the ''least'' offensive element that John Hughes incorporated into his character.