#Sweet sixteen movie 1984 movie

When the movie goes too far, as it does with a stupid subplot about a sex-crazed Oriental exchange student or a running gag about a young woman in a body brace, at least it manages to bound back relatively soon thereafter. Miss Ringwald plays Samantha in a relatively natural style, which makes her virtually the only creature in the story with any feelings the others are affectionately exaggerated, like the father (Paul Dooley) who never quite seems to be listening to his daughter, or the kid brother (Justin Henry) who has refined sister-baiting to an art form. Hughes to be well able to direct his own dialogue and to juggle a cast of all-American comic caricatures. Sophomoric as it may be, ''16 Candles'' shows Mr. He captures, among other things, the sorts of messages that 16-year-old girls send one another in study hall, and the unbearable goofiness of freshman boys as they travel by the busload. He begins ''16 Candles,'' which opens today at the Gemini and other theaters, with a quick introduction to Samantha (Molly Ringwald), the film's heroine, and to the large and seemingly affectionate family that is about to forget her birthday.ДЇrom Samantha's home life, which is all intramural squabbling and fights for the bathroom, Mr.

Mom,'' is far from infallibly funny, but enough of his humor hits the mark. Hughes, who makes his directorial debut after having written ''National Lampoon's Vacation,'' ''National Lampoon's Class Reunion'' and ''Mr. Hughes's knack for remembering all those aspects of middle-class American adolescent behavior that anyone else might want to forget. But most of the the movie is cheerful and light, showcasing Mr. The middle of the film wastes time on a bit more house-wrecking and car-crashing than is absolutely necessary, and there are some notably unfunny ethnic jokes.

JOHN HUGHES'S ''16 Candles'' is a cuter and better-natured teen comedy than most, with the kinds of occasional lapses in taste that probably can't hurt it in the circles for which it is intended.