Line #86 Film/SixteenCandles


1	[[quoteright:298:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sixteen_candles.jpg]]
2	%%
3	->''"I don't believe it: They fucking forgot my birthday."''
4	-->-- '''Samantha Baker'''
5
6	''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 film written and directed by Creator/JohnHughes, the first of his six teen comedies.
7
8	Creator/MollyRingwald stars as Samantha "Sam" Baker, a girl facing numerous emotional challenges on her sixteenth birthday. Her family, focused on the wedding of her older sister, Ginny, forgets her birthday; she's in love with senior Jake Ryan, who she thinks doesn't know she exists; and she's pursued by a geeky freshman, Ted (Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall).
9
10	Not to be confused with ''Film/SixteenWishes'' -- even though that movie does, indeed, have sixteen candles.
11
12	----
13	!! ''Sixteen Candles'' provides examples of:
14
15	* ACupAngst: Sam. Her brother, Mike remarks that she's eating carrots to "increase the size of her breasts." Sam throws her pen at him. Later, she says about her bridesmaid dress: "I don't have one tenth of the bod to fill the stupid bust up." It doesn't help that her grandparents shamelessly mock her lack of development.
16	-->'''Helen:''' Look, Fred, she's gotten her boobies!\
17	'''Fred:''' I better go get my magnifying glass.\
18	'''Helen:''' Oh, and they are so ''perky!'' grope
19	* AmusingInjuries: Joan Cusack wears a neck brace. Her attempts to drink from a water fountain and a can of beer are PlayedForLaughs. Sam's sister's period pain, for which she has to take muscle relaxants, is also presented as funny.
20	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Sam's brother, Mike, who cheerfully mocks her and everyone else and is more worldly than their parents are comfortable with.
21	-->'''Sam:''' Mike thinks I'm a dork.\
22	'''Sam's dad:''' Mike ''is'' a dork.
23	* AsianAndNerdy: Dong, when we first see him. Subverted when he becomes the LifeOfTheParty later.
24	* AsianDrivers: Dong crashes Sam's grandfather's car.[[note]]I don't know; was he already drunk at the time?[[/note]]
25	* BettyAndVeronica: Jake Ryan is dating Caroline (Veronica) but spends most of the movie trying to hook up with sweet Sam (Betty). On the other hand, we only see Caroline for two days, in which she has to cope with her boyfriend completely ignoring her. Whereas Sam spends that time pining for someone who's already taken, and gives her underwear to a mean boy she's only just met... so it's really up to the viewer to decide who's the Betty and who's the Veronica.
26	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Ted, in the car, after Caroline (drunk to the point of passing out) puts her head in his lap.
27	-->'''Ted:''' [[DudeShesLikeInAComa This... is getting good.]]
28	* BringingBackProof: Ted bets his friends that he can make it with Sam. They insist that he bring back proof that he succeeded. They first suggest video, but he rejects it on the grounds that it could damage his reputation. They then suggest underpants and he accepts. As he's walking away, his friends clarify ''girls''' underpants.
29	* ButtMonkey: The movie doesn't pull any punches in showing teens in humiliating situations.
30	* DoggedNiceGuy: Ted is doggedly persistent in his pursuit of Sam, to the degree that he seems like a badly trained puppy who won't leave her alone.
31	* DudeShesLikeInAComa: If they did have sex, Ted was apparently blackout drunk and Caroline was far beyond the point of consent and possibly not even sure who she was with.
32	* DysfunctionalFamily: The Bakers mean well, but they all (including grandparents and possibly other family attending the wedding) forget their sixteen year old daughter's birthday until well into the night. Also, did you notice that there is a youngest daughter? In the bonus features for the flashback edition DVD, Diablo Cody (Writer of ''Film/{{Juno}}'') observes of Sara Baker that, "She is gonna have some therapy bills."
33	* {{Expy}}: Long Duk Dong is suspiciously similar to another character in Creator/JohnHughes' short story "Christmas '59", which formed the basis for ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation''. The story has Grandma and Grandpa Swenson visiting for Christmas with exchange student Xgung Wo along for the ride. He even mispronounces English phrases to comic effect.
34	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The movie takes place over less than two days.
35	* FakeFood: The cake that Jake Ryan and Samantha kiss over was made out of cardboard. When they tried shooting the scene with a real cake, it would melt over the long takes.
36	* FakeShemp: That isn't Creator/HavilandMorris in the gym shower scene, as her breasts weren't big enough. They used a body double instead.
37	* ForgottenBirthday: While the film is framed around Sam's forgotten birthday, it ends up being symbolic of her troubles rather than the cause of them.
38	* FreezeFrameBonus: In the cafeteria scene, the menu:
39	-->MEATBALL SALAD - .80
40	-->SENIOR BURGER & FRIES - $1.00
41	-->CHIPPED PORK ON A BUN - .55
42	-->JUMBO FISHDOG - .75
43	-->CORNAROOS - .55
44	-->GELATIN BALLS - .30
45	-->CANNED BROWNIES IN LIGHT SYRUP - .50
46	-->VITAMIN COBBLER - FREE
47	-->ICED TEA - .15
48	-->GRAPE BEVERAGE - .15
49	-->WARM MILK - .10
50	-->[[StockAmericanPhrases HAVE A NICE DAY]]
51	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Mike about his sister, Ginny, who's getting married:
52	-->'''Mike:''' She got her period. Should make for an interesting honeymoon, huh?\
53	'''His father:''' Where are you learning that stuff?\
54	'''Mike:''' School.\
55	'''His father:''' Good. Gettin' my money's worth.
56	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Several, perhaps the most memorable being the wrestling match behind the conversation between Jake and his friend in the gym.
57	* FunnyForeigner: Long Duk Dong uses broken English and malapropisms common for someone learning a language. He also bows to people sometimes. He's also accompanied by a gong sound wherever he goes.
58	* HighSchool: Besides the obvious fact of being set in and around Sam's high school, the fact that she's a sophomore crushing on a senior is given significant weight.
59	* HighSchoolDance: The second act of the film is set at the school dance, where Sam confronts her crush on Jake in a big way, Long Duk Dong finds love, and the "underwear incident" occurs.
60	* IAteWhat: Farmer Ted thought he was given a mint, but Caroline announces that they're both on the birth control pill, he promptly spits it out.
61	* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Sam is convinced that Jake would never want anything to do with her and is flabbergasted when he finally shows up at the church.
62	* ImNotPretty: Sam describes herself as "utterly forgettable."
63	* ImprobablyCoolCar: Jake's Porsche 944. Granted, his family's rich -- they have a [[BigFancyHouse mansion]] and his dad has a Rolls-Royce convertible with [[TechMarchesOn a car phone!]]
64	* INeedAFreakingDrink: The church organist, of all people, after Ginny's wedding dissolves into chaos.
65	* InterchangeableAsianCultures: Long Duk Dong is referred to as "Chinese", while he has a Vietnamese name, and he's played by a Japanese-American actor. He also yells "Banzai!" at Jake, which is Japanese.
66	* ItsAllAboutMe: Ginny accuses Sam of being this (who is understandably upset she can't confide in matters concerning boys to her and that the family forgot her birthday); ironically Ginny spends the film being rather self-absorbed and thinks Sam is jealous that she's getting married.
67	* KazoosMeanSilliness: A kazoo rendition of "Hungarian Dance# 5" plays on the soundtrack while Sam is going home on the [[BusesAreForFreaks school bus]].
68	* KissDiss: During the school dance, when Farmer Ted and Sam are in the shop car, Farmer Ted goes in for a kiss - or maybe a little more than that - but Sam turns him down.
69	* LifeOfTheParty: Dong, later in the film, having subverted AsianAndNerdy.[[note]]This subversion has often been pointed to, not least by Gedde Watanabe himself, in response to the voluminous criticism of the character as an egregious Asian stereotype ... Asians were usually ''not'' shown as party animals in early '80s popular culture (contrast ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds'')[[/note]]
70	* LovableAlphaBitch: Caroline is a downplayed example. She's friendly enough but she does throw a huge, destructive party at her boyfriend's house and doesn't take his objections too seriously. However, they make up and break up the next morning by which time she's moved on with an unpopular kid.
71	* MsFanservice: An unexpected form: one second you're watching Jake Ryan having a conversation while at the gym, the next minute, it cuts to a shot of Caroline's dripping wet breasts in the shower.
72	* NoAntagonist: The conflicts from the movie stem from misunderstandings. The characters are all flawed: Sam's parents forget her birthday, Ted sexually harasses people, and Jake ignores his girlfriend Caroline in favour of Sam and dumps her with Ted while she's blind drunk, but nobody is entirely unsympathetic. Even Caroline, the RomanticFalseLead, isn't malicious, just angry at Jake for ignoring her.
73	* NoEndorHolocaust: After the WildTeenParty Jake's house is a mess, trees toilet papered, there's been a car accident (Long Duk Dong's) on the front lawn, a weight lifting weight crashed through two floors and ended up destroying wine racks in the basement... However Jake manages to get a decent sleep, goes out looking for and finds Ted and Caroline, drops by Sam's and picks her up at the church, and the bit of his house that we see is nice and clean for the private birthday party at the end.
74	* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted with Ginny, who gets her period before her honeymoon and takes four muscle relaxers to deal with the cramps.
75	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: A weird example in the credits. Despite Ted Farmer's full name and his nickname "Farmer Ted" being clearly stated, he's only credited as The Geek.
76	* OpenMindedParent: In the end, Sam's dad lets her skip out on her sister's reception to go out... somewhere... with an older teen he has never met before. As a RealLife parent this raises flags, but in the movie's world her dad feels he probably owes her some slack, especially since this is the boy he knows she's been pining for.
77	* OverTheShoulderCarry: Ted carries the passed out Caroline to Jake's car like this.
78	* ParentsAsPeople: Sam's parents do care about her, as they both give sincere apologies when they realize they forgot her birthday. It's just they are preoccupied with their older daughter Ginny's wedding and all of their relatives visiting with them.
79	* PrecisionFStrike: The only time the word is used is when Sam realizes that her family forgot her birthday.
80	* RiteOfPassage: For Samantha, in the course of two days, her family forgets about her birthday, her sister gets married, she confronts her crush on Jake and Ted's crush on her, she reconciles with her mom and dad, and then finally gets Jake and has a fairy-tale first date, complete with birthday cake.
81	* SealedWithAKiss: The film ends with [[spoiler: Samantha and Jake kissing.]]
82	* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Getting laid is Ted's primary motivation throughout the film. He is finally convinced to leave Sam alone after he realizes that she's pining for Jake, and then encourages the two of them to get together. His "reward" for hooking the two of them up is (probably) having sex with Caroline (it's unclear exactly what happened as both of them were apparently ''very'' drunk, but she thinks they had sex and that she enjoyed it, and she's happy with the situation the next day).
83	* ShoutOut: One of the cars owned by the Baker relatives has the license plate "V 58", a reference to Hughes' short story ''Vacation '58'', the basis of what would become ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation''.
84	* ShotgunWedding: It's never explicitly stated that this is happening, but when Ginny has missed a period and the two families are rushing her and her beau to the altar, the conclusion is obvious, as is the chagrin when they realize that her period has come after all.
85	* ShowerScene: Sam and her friend spy on Caroline in the shower. Despite showing her topless, the film managed to get a PG rating.
86	* SingleGirlSeeksMostPopularGuy: Jake is a senior, the son of rich parents, apparently a jock or at least very athletic, and is dating the prom queen. Sam is a nobody sophomore with a crush.
87	* StalkingIsLove: Ted genuinely believes this.
88	* {{Tagline}}: ''It's the time of your life that may last a lifetime.''
89	* TitledAfterTheSong: "16 Candles", by The Crests. A cover was recorded by Music/StrayCats for the film.
90	* TokenMinority: Long Duk Dong is the only non-white character with any significant screen time.
91	* WhatDidIDoLastNight:
92	** While not drunk at all, Sam seems to have forgotten that she gave out her panties to a geek the previous night until reminded by her friend.
93	** And Ted doesn't seem to remember much of ''anything'' that happened between him and Caroline, despite the fact that ''she'' was the drunk one last we saw, not him. [[spoiler: She says she thinks they had sex and that she enjoyed it, but neither Ted nor the audience have any idea how or even IF that actually happened.]]
94	*** Ted WAS having martinis with Jake just before he drove off in the Rolls with a passed out Caroline.
95	* WildTeenParty: There's one at Jake Ryan's house, complete with drinking, implied sex, and the place getting trashed.

Context Film / SixteenCandles