Sixteen Candles

Lately I have been in the mood for some of the films by John Hughes. A director that made some of the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s. Though a name you probably don't actually recognise despite this. His films are often pertaining to the teen genre, focusing on the chaotic lives of the youth whether it's by displaying the hardships or the positives. While I have seen many of his films before, there have been a few that I just haven't been able to recall whether I had seen them or not at some point. Sixteen Candles is one of these films; one that I have seen around and heard the name of, even seen the poster a million times. Though I could never actually remember anything about it. Doubting whether I had seen it, I figured it'd be fun to give it a potential revisit. Craving some 80s and 90s films, I was more than ready for whatever it had to offer. Especially since I had seen a few other titles by the director recently.

Sixteen Candles seems like quite a self-explanatory film. And that's because it really is. This film is simple, coming at a time where simple ideas could be explored and thrown together into a feature length film despite the simplicity. While I hate the idea that prior generations were better, there definitely was a better time in cinema compared to the present. Where very human concepts such as Sixteen Candles could be made, not overly artistic, not without any specific message that's thrown into your face, or without any pandering to justify its existence. That isn't to say the film doesn't have a theme it's addressing, but that it does it so well that you might not even notice it by just following the story from start to finish. This is a film about youth, and the fears of growing older. The many changes and expectations placed upon the youth even as they struggle to find themselves.

Try to remember being fifteen years old. Chances are, it was a time of chaos as you fell a step closer to the age of sixteen. An age that everyone hypes up around you as some grand achievement to which life really begins. Whether that's really true or not, there's no doubt that the age of sixteen crept up on us and threw us into a world of anxiety and uncertainties. There is this idea that around 16 you are entering the adult realm, where you have to start considering who you want to be and what you're to do with your life going forward. What do you study? Why will you study it? Have you thought of career options? Now you're going throw a lot of changes and your hormones are going absolutely crazy. Societal expectations are raining upon you with the standards of what's considered cool and attractive, and what isn't. It seems as if the entire world is against you. Well, this is Sixteen Candles. Though also a bit of a romance and comedy film.

Sixteen Candles follows Samantha, who is just turning sixteen. It's her birthday, but everyone is also running rampant over her relative's upcoming wedding. Despite being such a big day for Samantha, not a single person in her family has managed to remember. She throws off the odd hint here and there, but nobody actually manages to pick up on it. Instead of actually informing anyone, she stays completely silent regarding it, almost expecting someone to say something to her and imply the whole thing was some cruel joke. With her entire family coming together and not knowing, she goes about her day like any other. The downside to the film is the love triangle that it pushes as Samantha gains the attention of two other boys. Though some comedic casual racism is also sprinkled in for comedic effect in the form of an Asian exchange student that seems utterly crazy. The film often playing the sound of a gong whenever his character appears. I found this hilarious, to be honest. Due to the fact that it was just so insane and unexpected. That realisation of how different of a world it was back then set in, but I don't think there's anything to be mad about in regards to it. It was just a different time.

One of the main things I noticed about Sixteen Candles was how it wasn't really cinematic at all. This doesn't mean it was shot in a bad manner, but that the lenses used seemed to have a pretty tight focal length to them. The shots meant that characters seemed very large and up-close to the lens, and that there wasn't much separation between them and the backgrounds. Perhaps this was a result of a lower budget, where backgrounds were not meant to be seen in such detail, or that the more cinematic lenses were just more expensive. I don't think this made the film feel cheaper, however. In fact, I think it improved the immersion felt as characters and perspectives they were displayed in seemed more grounded. This is in addition to what seemed like a simplistic cinematography setup, where lights and colours seemed very authentic to the environments and period. Nothing particularly stood out, and it was as if a camera was just following a regular family around. Of course, given the 80s production, this is a film shot on 35mm film too. It doesn't seem like any high-end film stock, and is full of grain and muted colours. It's very gritty which again keeps things grounded. Not necessarily a stylistic choice, but one that has impacted the visuals as times have changed. I quite liked how it was shot, such simplicity that speaks of a time in which fancy LED lights and arthouse style cinematography just wasn't necessary. It worked with the story of a teenage girl dealing with the chaos of life around at her as she jumped into the idea of adulthood.

Speaking of the performances, there's a few actors you may recognise from other 80s films, but for the most part you probably don't know them. I'd say the. cast seemed pretty fitting for the film, especially in regards to Samantha's family. They seemed real enough, with actually elderly grandparents for example, instead of today's weird trend of having super youthful looking grandparents in films and television shows; especially when they just use a very famous older actor instead of more believable actually-old actors. Perhaps many of these actors had a theatre background, at least. Alongside the script, it's easy to see them as a true family. And it's also very easy to feel for the maturity Samantha has to display just to get through the day as life changes, and even romance attempts to make its way into her life. For a short, simplistic film, Sixteen Candles is a very heartfelt film, but one that isn't overly deep and throwing its theme into your face. John Hughes just knew how to handle these stories of youth in an authentic manner, it seems! Samantha the whole time seems like such a true teenager, so embarrassed, so uncertain of things. But also so mature in understanding and keeping her distance from the negatives in life. It's easy to feel for her given she doesn't freak out or insist there is pity on her, she just shrugs it off and moves on. For the age of sixteen, I'd say John Hughes created a character ready for life's problems awaiting ahead.