Sixteen Candles - Perfect Sweet 16 Birthday Gift

Product description VHS TAPE. 1 hour, 33 minutes, color. This is one of John Hughes' biggest hits. It features one of the best teenage actresses of the time, Molly Ringwold, and has excellent support from Paul Dooley, Justin Henry, and a precociously young Anthony Michael Hall, playing the dweeb of dweebs, long before he found a remarkable success called "The Dead Zone." Our girl Molly has just turned 16 and nobody in her family has a clue. They've forgotten this seminal date in any girl's life. But her day of days isn't over yet, and she just might have a surprise for herself in the process. Amazon.com Molly Ringwald established herself as the teen queen of the '80s in this fresh comedy. The movie is a day in the life of Samantha, whose 16th birthday is turning out to be anything but sweet. All the traumas of teendom come down on one long day, which sees Samantha surrounded by dithery relatives, mooning over a high school hunk, and pursued by a sawed-off Lothario. Sixteen Candles marked the directing debut of John Hughes, and its goofy energy displayed a promising talent with a great ear for high school lingo ... a promise neglected since Hughes became, after Home Alone, a one-man entertainment industry. There are some pretty crass moments (Why the stereotype of the foreign-exchange student from Asia?), but Ringwald's steady appeal smoothes over the rough spots. As the pubescent, self-styled lady-killer, Anthony Michael Hall turns in a hilarious portrait of a young swinger; he and Ringwald would reteam with Hughes for The Breakfast Club, another key teen picture of the decade. --Robert Horton