The 80s: Sixteen Candles

After my first 80s educational post, I've been a little keyboard-shy. I mean, I post about Michael Jackson and then.... Well, you know.

But, my desire to share my historical (*gag*) knowledge with the younger generation has overcome my fears that I might be able to kill people with my blog. I now present to you one of the great classic 80s movies, Sixteen Candles.

The Story

Samantha Baker is having an awful day, on what should be one of the best of her life. Her Sweet Sixteen. It's starts when, amidst the chaos of her sister's next-day wedding, her entire family completely forgets that it's her birthday. Add to that a delirious crush on hottie senior Jake Ryan, a disastrous note-passing incident, an outrageous foreign exchange student, a house full of grandparents, a panty-hunting geek, a drunk ex-girlfriend, and a whole host of other hilarious problems, and it's easy to see why this movie is such a classic. Want more details? Here's the trailer:

Seriously, I think Jake Ryan is the model for pretty much every hero I write. (Even Hank Stuever, a staff writer for the Washington Post, though so. He wrote an arcticle called "Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of 'Sixteen Candles'"!)

The Cast

John Hughes, the late great director and screenwriter of Sixteen Candles (and about a billion other movie classics), managed to assemble a completely awesome cast. Check this out.

Molly Ringwald (aka the 80s teen queen) as Sam Baker
Michael Schoeffling as hottie-with-a-heart Jake Ryan
Anthony Michael Hall (no longer a geek) as Ted the Geek
John Cusack as minor character Bryce
Joan Cusack as minor-minor character Geek Girl #1
Paul Dooley (you'll recognize him when you see him) as Sam's dad

The Quotes

Samantha: I can't believe this. They #@$%! forgot my birthday.

Jim Baker: That's why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they'd call them something else.

Samantha: May I be excused?
Grandma Helen: Where are you going?
Samantha: I have a dance to go to at school. It's a very important dance... we're being graded on it for Gym.

Jake: I want a serious girlfriend. Somebody I can love, that's gonna love me back. Is that psycho?

Samantha: Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease.

Jake: Happy birthday, Samantha. Make a wish.
Samantha: Well, it already came true.


Okay, I now expect you all to run out and rent Sixteen Candles. (And if anything happens to Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, or Anthony Michael Hall in the coming days... I am not responsible. I swear.)

Hugs,
TLC