High School Reunion: Sixteen Candles (1984) 40th Anniversary Screening
Director: John Hughes Run Time: 93 min. Release Year: 1984
Starring: Anthony Michael Hall, Gedde Watanabe, Haviland Morris, Michael Schoeffling, Molly Ringwald
Country: United States
Language: English
High School Reunion – Class of ’84
Featuring a trio of significant teen classics: John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles (1984), Herbert Ross’ Footloose (1984) and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
About the film:
With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister’s upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha (Molly Ringwald) faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake (Michael Schoeffling), but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff for the popular senior. Meanwhile, Samantha must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), the only boy in the school, unfortunately, who seems to take an interest in her.
“[Sixteen Candles] is cheerful and light, showcasing Mr. Hughes’s knack for remembering all those aspects of middle-class American adolescent behavior that anyone else might want to forget”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times
About the filmmaker:
John Hughes was an influential American filmmaker who began his career as an advertising copywriter before becoming a regular contributor for the National Lampoon magazine. He captured the adoration of a generation with his perceptive and light-hearted Brat Pack comedies, beginning with writing and directing Sixteen Candles (1984) followed by The Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (1985), and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and writing the screenplays for Pretty in Pink (1986) and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). He went on to write and direct the adult comedies Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), She’s Having a Baby (1988), and Uncle Buck (1989). He also penned the screenplays for many feature films, including National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Mr. Mom (1983), Home Alone (1990), Beethoven (1992), Dennis the Menace (1993), and the live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996). In 2010, Hughes’ career was honored posthumously with a moving tribute at the 82nd Academy Awards.
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