Sixteen Candles

By VARIETY STAFF

Universal. Director John Hughes; Producer Hilton A. Green; Screenplay John Hughes; Camera Bobby Byrne; Editor Edward Warschilka; Music Ira Newborn; Art Director John W. Corso
 
Molly Ringwald
Anthony Michael Hall
Michael Schoeffling
Paul Dooley
Justin Henry
Liane Curtis
 

Cream puff of a teen comedy about the miseries of a girl turning 16 turns out to be an amiable, rather goldilocked film. Tone of the film, despite some raw language, brief nudity in the shower and carnage at a high school party, actually suggests the middle America of a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover.

For the girls, there's Molly Ringwald as the film's angst-ridden centerpiece. Ringwald is engaging and credible. For the boys, there's a bright, funny performance by Anthony Michael Hall, a hip freshman wimp called Ted the Geek. There's also a darkly handsome high school heartbreak kid (Michael Schoeffling), a merciful brisk pace, some quick humor (visual and verbal), and a solid music track.

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1984. Running time: 93 MIN.