This article contains a discussion of Sєxual harᴀssment and ᴀssault, racism, homophobia, and underage drinking.

John Hughes had his first major coming-of-age film in 1984 with Sixteen Candles, and while it’s still a beloved classic 40 years later, it isn’t without its flaws. Sixteen Candles wasn’t his film debut, as he already had two National Lampoon’s Vacation movies under his belt. However, Sixteen Candles was John Hughes’ directorial debut. It was also the first movie Molly Ringwald made with Hughes, as they continued to work with each other on The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.

Sixteen Candles came just before the halfway mark of the decade in the 1980s and completely changed the rest of the films that followed, for better or worse. Sixteen Candles also helped create the “Brat Pack” of 1980s actors, which included stars Ringwald (Sam) and Anthony Michael Hall (Ted). Film lovers today owe a lot to Sixteen Candles, but that doesn’t make it free of criticism.

10

The Family Forgetting Sam’s Birthday Makes No Sense

The Inciting Incident Is Confusing

Sixteen Candles takes place over two days, the main character Samantha “Sam” Baker’s 16th birthday, and the following day, which happens to be her older sister’s wedding day. Everyone in the family is so focused on Ginny (Blanche Baker), that they completely forget Sam’s birthday, which is just the start of a pretty bad day for her. Anyone in her position would be upset, but she shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.

Sixteen Candles emphasizes how much Sam looked forward to her Sweet 16. She tells her best friend Randy (Liane Curtis), “Since I was about 12, I’ve been looking forward to my sweet 16,” and then describes her dream party. If Sam was actually having a sweet 16 party, it would have been planned months in advance.

The fact that her birthday was the day before her sister’s wedding would also have been brought up at some point. Her birthday slipped the family’s minds with the day’s chaos, but it should have been more prominent in their minds in the first place.

9

Sam Should Have Realized Jake Had Her Note

Sam Should Have Looked To Make Sure Randy Got The Note

After the first major inciting incident, Sam’s note is accidentally picked up by her crush, the popular senior Jake (Michael Schoeffling). Unfortunately, these Sixteen Candles storylines cause some interesting plot holes upon rewatch. In her childhood development class, another female student asked Sam to fill out a “Sєx test,” which she did in independent study. When she goes to pᴀss the note to Randy, it falls on the floor. Jake picks it up, reads it, and learns about her Sєxual experience, or lack thereof, and her crush on him.

Jake picked up the note without drawing attention, therefore, Sam should have been able to do the same in Sixteen Candles.

Sam freaks out when she realizes Randy never got the note. However, if the note, which had “confidential” written in big letters, was so important, she would have been more careful. Sam clumsily dropped the note by Randy’s desk instead of on it. She also never turned to look to see if her friend, who was taking a nap, received the note. Jake picked up the note without drawing attention, therefore, Sam should have been able to do the same in Sixteen Candles. Fortunately, both inciting incidents kick off great stories, so it’s easy to overlook the plot holes.

8

Sam & Randy Watching Caroline Shower Was Inappropriate

Sixteen Candles Was Rated PG

Sixteen Candles was shockingly rated PG when it first premiered in 1984. At the time, the MPA only had the ratings G (for all ages), PG (which suggested parental guidance), R (which meant that minors had to be accompanied by an adult), and X (which was for adult audiences only and was later replaced by NC-17). As a product of this, many scenes that would be inappropriate for younger children snuck into PG-rated films. The PG-13 rating was added in July 1984, two months after Sixteen Candles became a box office hit.

Perhaps the most inappropriate scene for younger viewers was when Sam and Randy watched a fully ɴuᴅᴇ Caroline (Haviland Morris) in the gym showers. Additionally, it was inappropriate in the context of Sixteen Candles. The showers didn’t have doors to them, but Sam and Randy stood creeping around the corner and commented on her body. On one hand, women and girls can become comfortable around each other through locker rooms and open showers. On the other hand, Sam and Randy objectified Caroline in Sixteen Candles, who didn’t know they were watching her.

7

The Use Of Slurs Didn’t Age Well

Slurs Were Common In 1980s Films

This harsh reality is a harsh reality of almost every popular teen comedy film from the 1980s. If Sixteen Candles was made today, the nudity would have earned it a higher MPAA rating, as would the use of slurs. This isn’t unique to Sixteen Candles or even the 1980s. The usage of slurs, as insults or otherwise, is still prevalent in films today; they just earn movies a higher MPAA rating and are typically used in a context where the viewer is meant to know the usage is inappropriate.

Sam and Ted use a homophobic slur, Sam’s grandfather uses a slur against people with disabilities, and multiple characters use racial slurs. While the casual use of these slurs may be shocking or even repulsive to today’s audiences, they are a product of their time period. Sixteen Candles takes place at a high school in the 1980s, where, unfortunately, this type of language was not just prevalent, but generally accepted.

6

Sєxual Harᴀssment Is Rampant Throughout Sixteen Candles

Multiple Female Characters Were Sєxually Harᴀssed

Randy and Sam spying on Caroline in the shower could be considered Sєxual harᴀssment, but that was just the tip of a very big iceberg in Sixteen Candles. Sadly, this is yet another example of the film being a product of its time period. Fortunately, the uncomfortable feelings that come with rewatching Sixteen Candles 40 years later are also proof of how much has changed and how much further society has to go regarding the normalization and prioritization of consent.

Out of the teenage male characters, every one of them is either excessively physical or makes an extremely inappropriate Sєxual comment about or towards a woman at some point. The entire geek group that Ted hangs out with just wants to fit in, and fitting in for them means degrading women and “getting laid” by any means necessary. The harᴀssment doesn’t just come from the boys. At one point in Sixteen Candles, Sam’s grandmother touches her breasts inappropriately off-screen, and her family constantly makes remarks about them.

5

Sixteen Candles Was Racist Towards Asian People

Long Duk Dong Wasn’t Really Comedic Relief

Perhaps the most obvious harsh reality that comes with rewatching Sixteen Candles is how racist it was towards Asian people. For many, this reality came when watching it for the first time 40 years ago. Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), a Chinese foreign exchange student living with Sam’s grandparents, was meant to be the film’s main comedic relief.

While Watanabe gives a great comedic performance, he was tasked with performing a 1980s stereotype of Chinese people that still exists. The exaggerated fake accents and stereotypical jokes were not uncommon and can still be found in modern projects. One of the film’s most heavy-handed and egregious acts of racism was the use of a loud gong sound effect when his stereotypical, “comedic” name was said.

For many, Sixteen Candles’ use of Long Duk Dong as a racist, stereotypical comedic relief character ruins the entire movie. For the 40th anniversary, Watanabe gave People his take on the character he portrayed. While he did see how some things came across as offensive while making the movie, he didn’t see it as “racist.” Watanabe also pointed out that Sixteen Candles played against stereotypes because Dong got the girl. As Watanabe put it,

“It didn’t really occur to me that it was a stereotype, because there wasn’t really anything out there for Asian actors at the time.”

4

Ginny Wasn’t As Self-Absorbed As You Might Have Thought

Ginny Wanted What Was Best For Sam

Sam’s family forgetting her birthday was somewhat blamed on Ginny, her wedding, and the attention she was getting in Sixteen Candles. The film’s first scene establishes Sam as the odd one out in the family. She has an older sister getting married and two much younger siblings, with her young brother making it his mission to torture her.

When viewers meet Ginny, she is also portrayed as a joke. She isn’t the smartest and is overly concerned about her looks. Yet, she takes the time to comfort Sam and wants to be there for her. She just doesn’t know how to.

As Sam’s dad told Sam about Ginny, “When you’re given things kind of easily, you don’t always appreciate them.” Ginny is a product of her circumstances and she marries the first guy who has loved her for six months straight, suggesting insecurity. Furthermore, her wedding day is a disaster and she’s the ʙuтт of the joke when she doesn’t deserve it.

3

The Beloved Male Characters Were Very Flawed

Jake & Ted Weren’t Always Great Guys

The geeky Ted crushes on Sam and fakes an alpha-male personality among his Sєx-obsessed geeky friends in Sixteen Candles. When Ted finally realizes that Sam wants Jake and not him, he decides to help the popular kid. Conversely, Jake is kind to him and respectful of Samantha, making them lovable and a great duo.

Yet, they do some deplorable things in Sixteen Candles. They demean and objectify women and Jake pursues Sam while he’s still with Caroline. Their worst offense by far is their treatment of Jake’s girlfriend, Caroline. When Caroline pᴀsses out drunk in Jake’s room, he tells Ted he could “violate her 10 different ways” but doesn’t want to.

However, Ted does. They briefly wake the disoriented Caroline, lie to her, and novice driver Ted takes off with her. Though it’s pretty clear Jake didn’t think Ted would do anything, and they don’t remember whether they had Sєx or not, it could have happened. If it did, neither of them was able to consent, but Ted let his nerd friends believe it did and even showed them Caroline pᴀssed out. In the wake of #MeToo in particular, this is extremely hard to rewatch.

2

Caroline Wasn’t As Mean As Jake Made Her Seem

Jake Wasn’t Supportive Of Caroline

Jake’s main problem with Caroline in Sixteen Candles, and his reason for pursuing Sam while they’re still together, is he believes she parties too much. This is a fair belief given that she pressures him into throwing a party, gets blackout drunk, and his home gets torn apart. Yet, Jake was nowhere to be seen while Caroline was sitting drunk with her hair caught in a door, surrounded by other drunk girls.

Like many teenage characters in party films, Caroline can be seen as an alcoholic, but nobody, not even her boyfriend, supports her. Instead, she’s put in vulnerable positions where she could be, and was, taken advantage of. When Caroline woke up the next morning, she was kind to both Ted and Jake despite them not deserving it. Still, she was framed as a villain early on.

1

Jake Didn’t Really Like Sam In Sixteen Candles

Jake Liked The Idea Of Sam

The first time Jake pays attention to Sam in Sixteen Candles is when she drops the note. This is understandable given she’s a sophomore and he’s a senior. Yet, he becomes enamored with her almost immediately, despite having a girlfriend. On a rewatch, viewers may see that Jake doesn’t like Sam, but he likes the idea of her.

Jake is stuck in a relationship he isn’t happy in and doesn’t know how to end it. Sam’s crush on him interested him and allowed him to dream of something new. Jake even tells Ted he wants a “serious girlfriend,” and he thinks that can be Sam. The same goes for Sam, who is only attracted to Jake and his being a senior. Fortunately, the Sixteen Candles ending shows them getting to know each other, which could lead to real feelings.

Other Brat Pack Movies That Haven’t Aged Well

The Brat Pack movies feel like quintessential ’80s classics, but the more we move away from the ’80s, it stands to reason that there are certain things that were going to feel outdated. This is especially true of movies of this kind, as they deal with teen uses and broad comedy moments of the era. Indeed, like Sixteen Candles, there are some Brat Pack moments that have aged poorly, with two other Molly Ringwald projects that especially stand out.

Pretty in Pink is often seen as a companion piece to Sixteen Candles, as it is another film starring Ringwald as a girl finding herself in a love triangle with her crush on the rich playboy with depth (Andrew McCarthy) and her best friend who has secretly been in love with her (Jon Cryer). However, looking back on the movie, neither boy feels like a particularly great option. McCarthy’s Blane is a self-centered and hurtful jerk, while Cryer’s Duckie has some stalker elements that are far less charming now.

However, even more cringeworthy, The Breakfast Club has aged worse than most movies of the era, despite being perhaps the definitive Brat Pack film. There are a number of moments of offensive language that simply wouldn’t fly with modern audiences. There’s also the makeover that Allison (Ally Sheedy) gets to make her “more presentable,” which many feel is in poor taste now. However, there are moments that go far beyond that, such as Bender (Judd Nelson) ᴀssaulting Claire (Molly Ringwald) in what is meant to be a comedic scene.

Following the #MeToo movement’s early days, Ringwald actually wrote a piece in The New Yorker addressing that moment in The Breakfast Club and admitting her discomfort with watching it now:

I kept thinking about that scene. I thought about it again this past fall, after a number of women came forward with Sєxual-ᴀssault accusations against the producer Harvey Weinstein, and the #MeToo movement gathered steam. If atтιтudes toward female subjugation are systemic, and I believe that they are, it stands to reason that the art we consume and sanction plays some part in reinforcing those same atтιтudes.

Source: People