History Film / SixteenCandles

* TheHerosBirthday: At the end of the film, Sam finally [[spoiler:gets to celebrate her sixteenth, with Jake.]]

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish Averted with Dong. For all of the complaints about the character as a cringeworthy Asian stereotype, Gedde Watanabe studiously avoids the accent tropes.

* ExtravertedNerd: Ted is doggedly persistent in his pursuit of Sam, to the degree that he seems like a badly trained puppy who won't leave her alone.

** Averted. Dong remembers pretty much everything -- a ''surprising'' amount, considering.
--->'''Jake:''' Open the door.\\
'''Long Duk Dong:''' You beat up my face!\\
'''Jake:''' You grabbed my ''nuts''.\\
'''Long Duk Dong:''' [looks through frosted glass on door] That you?\\
'''Jake:''' Yeah, that me.
** Conversely, while not drunk at all, Sam seems to have forgotten that she gave out her panties to a geek the previous night until reminded by her friend.

* BringingBackProof: Ted bets his friends that he can make it with Sam They insist that he bring back proof that he succeeded. They first suggest video, but he rejects it on the grounds that it could damage his reputation. They then suggest underpants and he accepts. As he's walking away, his friends clarify ''girls''' underpants.

* LovableAlphaBitch: Caroline is a downplayed example. She's friendly enough but she does throw a huge, destructive party at her boyfriend's house and doesn't take his objections too seriously.

* OpenMindedParent: In the end, Sam's dad lets her skip out on her sister's reception to go out... somewhere... with an older teen he has never met before. As a RealLife parent this raises flags, but in the movie's world her dad feels he probably owes her some slack.

* {{Corpsing}}: During the scene at the dinner table, many of the younger cast members can be seen trying to hold back laughter or smiles. This was due to the fact that while filming, Creator/GeddeWatanabe was doing things off-camera while reading his lines. According to Creator/MollyRingwald, one of the things he did was stick grapes up his nostrils.

* FakeShemp: That isn't Haviland Morris in the gym shower scene, as her breasts weren't big enough. They used a body double instead.

* PantyShot:
** Ted asks Samantha if he can borrow her panties, and then shows them off to a group of 9th and 10th graders in the boys' bathroom who each paid $1 to see them.
** When Ted is driving the plastered Caroline home, he gets a glimpse of her panties. This reduces him to stunned incoherence.

* {{Expy}}: Long Duk Dong is suspiciously similar to another character in Creator/JohnHughes' short story "Christmas '59", which formed the basis for ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation''. The story has Grandma and Grandpa Swenson visiting for Christmas with exchange student Xgung Wo along for the ride. He even mispronounces English phrases to comic effect.

Now has a character sheet in progress.

-->'''Helen:''' Look, Fred, she's gotten her boobies!
-->'''Fred:''' I better go get my magnifying glass.
-->'''Helen:''' Oh, and they are so ''perky!'' *grope*

-->'''Sam:''' Mike thinks I'm a dork.
-->'''Sam's dad:''' Mike ''is'' a dork.

-->'''Mike:''' She got her period. Should make for an interesting honeymoon, huh?
-->'''His father:''' Where are you learning that stuff?
-->'''Mike:''' School.
-->'''His father:''' Good. Gettin' my money's worth.

*** Ted was having martinis with Jake just before he drove off in the Rolls.

** Ted was having martinis with Jake just before he drove off in the Rolls.

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish Averted with Dong. For all of the valid complaints about the character as a cringeworthy Asian stereotype, Gedde Watanabe studiously avoids the accent tropes.

''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 film written and directed by Creator/JohnHughes, the first of his teen comedies.

* {{Adorkable}}:
** Ted is a geeky freshman with no social skills who repeatedly harasses Sam, but he's so earnestly determined that Sam eventually relents and lets him talk to her (and gives him her panties).
** Long Duk Dong is described by his new girlfriend from the school dance as "sweet." Sam is disgusted.
--->'''Sam:''' Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease.

* MrsFanservice: An unexpected form: one second you're watching Jake Ryan having a conversation while at the gym, the next minute, it cuts to a shot of Caroline's dripping wet breasts in the shower.

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted with Ginny

Creator/MollyRingwald stars as Samantha "Sam" Baker, a girl facing numerous emotional challenges on her sixteenth birthday. Her family, focused on the wedding of her older sister, Ginny, forgets her birthday; she's in love with senior Jake Ryan, who she thinks doesn't know she exists; and she's pursued by a geeky freshman, Ted (Anthony Michael Hall).

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Caroline is far beyond the point of consent when she has sex with Ted, and may not even realise he's not Jake.

* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Getting laid is Ted's primary motivation throughout the film. He is finally convinced to leave Sam alone after he realizes that she's pining for Jake. His "reward" for hooking the two of them up is having sex with Caroline (who's too drunk to consent, but doesn't mind the next day).

** And Ted doesn't seem to remember [[spoiler:him and Caroline having sex]] despite the fact that ''she'' was the drunk one last we saw, not him.