Funny, I saw this as a young kid and the only thing that made an impression on me was the beginning when Molly Ringwald's parents forget her birthday, and the final scene where she gets her happy ending. I must've blocked out everything inbetween because I didn't understand it at that age... Watching "Sixteen Candles" again as an adult, I was stunned by how racist, sexist and crass most of the movie is. How can it be so revered, I wonder?

Crude sex-jokes, over-the-top humour, cringe-worthy Asian stereotypes... yikes. Most offensive is the scene where Molly's older-man crush hands his unconscious girlfriend over to The Geek and encourages him to have his way with her while she's passed out. What the hell? Is this movie actually condoning RAPE?! Unbelievable. And we're supposed to root for an innocent young girl to hook up with this creep?

I know many teen comedies from the early '80s still had that '70s sensibility, and nudity/vulgarity was common. But I just didn't expect Porky's-style hijinks from John Hughes movies, which are often acclaimed for their realistic portrayal of teen life. This particular film seems to get many positive reviews for being groundbreaking in it's realism. But this ain't *my* version of reality.

I dunno, maybe "Sixteen Candles" was, at the time, a step up from previous teen movies. Still, it's definitely my least favorite Hughes film, and I wouldn't recommend it to any impressionable youngsters out there who might pick up some very bad messages...if they have a better memory than I did.