What a difference.
I was so hoping that Sixteen Candles wouldn't be another Pretty in Pink. Honestly, I enjoy the Breakfast Club and Weird Science, but I just could net get into Pretty in Pink.
Sixteen Candles just had so much more going for it, and I really came away enjoying it.
Again, we have a young lady, Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), who is jonesing on one of the most popular boys at school, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). It also just so happens to be her sixteenth birthday - and her sister is getting married the next day.
Oh, and because of all the commotion at her house for her sister's wedding - her entire family, including those visiting for the wedding - have forgotten her birthday.
Meanwhile, Jake has noticed that Samantha stares at him, and well he actually starts to 'notice' her.
Then there's The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall), who has a huge crush on Samantha, and is trying desperately to get laid and impress his friends. The Geek is able to talk to Samantha, and this gets him to be friends with Jake as he tries to find out more about her.
Finally, we get the very odd and not entirely need - but very glad he was - Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe). An exchange student who is staying with Samantha's grandparents, and comes for the wedding. He heads to a dance with Samantha, finds a lady and gets totally plastered at a party - he was hilarious.
And really, that is what made all of the difference comparing this movie with Pretty in Pink. The latter film was just far too serious for my taste. It as lacking the comedy that The Geek and Long Duk Dong provided so well in this film.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this film was the way the romance developed. Samantha and Jake are the whole point of the film, but they aren't even together at all through most of it. Sure, we get that kiss at the birthday cake, but (SPOILER ALERT) that was their only real interaction throughout the entire film (SPOILER OVER). And, I loved it.
This probably ranks around the sames as Weird Science for me in the John Hughes' films. Breakfast Club is still the king of the pack for me - that film was able to mix the comedy and the drama so well, it has to be at the top.
Grade:
Been meaning to see this for months now (well, years, really, but I've actively been thinking about seeing it lately). Somehow, I never saw it as a youth and it must not get TV play for whatever reason (note: I didn't have cable as a kid, so I could be wrong there).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yeah, I saw Pretty in Pink a while back and was pretty let down, so I'm looking forward to this being a lot better.