SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984)

"That's why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they'd call 'em something else."

Now this is more like it!  After kinda getting a little down from watching PRETTY IN PINK, I revisited SIXTEEN CANDLES and now I feel awesome!   I think I'm gonna go party with the Donger, put a pizza on a record player, dance to some Oingo Boingo and wreck my Rolls Royce.

Average high school teenager Molly Ringwald is superbummed that her family is so wrapped up planning her older sister's wedding that they forgot her 16th birthday.  Even worse, the hunk that she's secretly in love with doesn't even know she exist...or does he?  One thing's for sure though: the local geek/wannabe stud knows that she exists and he hits on her nonstop.

I'm not sure if SIXTEEN CANDLES is the single best 80's high school movie or not, but it's up there.  It's certainly one of the most influential, right along side FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and THE BREAKFAST CLUB.  I know for me as a sexy teenager in the 80's I watched the fuck out of this movie.  Watching it again now after not seeing it for a number of years I was kinda surprised at how well it's aged.  I was also impressed by the intricacies of Anthony Michael Hell's performance.  He was really good.  Were all of those little touches instructed by John Hughes or did he just do them?  Like when he knocked over that loaded down rack of car parts and in an effort to rectify the situation he moves that one little part over closer to the larger pile.  Haha.

SIXTEEN CANDLES might not be for the more grumpier members of the No Fun Club who point out things like, whenever the great Long Duk Dong appears on screen you here a gong clanging or some of the more cruder sexual comments.  I just look of it as an ugly product of the times and that's how people talk.

A wide cast full of great characters, tons of quotable lines and memorable scenes, 80's fashion overload, otto-mo-biiiles, superfast pace without a single dead scene, shower scene, expensive floppy disks, headgear on.  Highly, highly recommended.

PRETTY IN PINK (1986)

Some people might get PRETTY IN PINK mixed up with SIXTEEN CANDLES.  If this happens to you, just remember that SIXTEEN CANDLES is the funny romantic comedy, whereas PRETTY IN PINK is the kinda downer romantic drama.  Also SIXTEEN CANDLES has Long Duk Dong "Ohh, sexy girlfriend!"

Poor (literally) Molly Ringwald lives on the wrong side of the tracks, but for whatever reason still gets to go to high school with the wealthy preppies.  The lead alpha male preppy (James Spader) wants to bang Molly, but she always tells him to fuck off.  Enter the sensitive preppy (Andrew McCarthy) who has a heart of gold and looks like he's 25.  Molly goes goo-goo for him, much to the chagrin of her best friend Duckie who is secretly in love with Molly despite the fact that he's obviously gay.  Anyways, stuff happens...preppies vs. whatever the hell Molly and Duckie were, Molly's dad is too lazy to get a job, Duckie dances around like an idiot, James Spader acts like a cad, 80's music is played, Molly's older female friend has a million costume changes and so on.  It's a lot of fun and I've seen it many times, but when you think about it: Molly never had many dating choices.  It all came down to Duckie and the wimpy McCarthy who seemed to like her, but at the same time didn't really seem too sincere.

Oh well, it's no SIXTEEN CANDLES, but it's still an enjoyable mid-80's high school drama.  The fashions alone are worth checking it out.

JFA

Hey, it's ol' girl from PRIVATE RESORT!