Sixteen Candles

The 1984 comedy, Sixteen Candles, written and directed by John Hughes is a glimpse into Samantha Baker’s life on the weekend of her sixteenth birthday. Samantha is anticipating turning “sweet sixteen” and is expecting something really special to happen on her birthday. To her disappointment, her family forgets her birthday and one “tragedy” leads to another. This movie clearly depicts some of the struggles and fantasies that adolescents face in a lighthearted manner.
A strong theme in this movie is physical and social maturation during the awkward age of adolescence. Samantha faces a day that she has dreamed about for years and abruptly realizes that her fantasy is not coming true. As she is getting ready for school on her birthday, Friday morning, she talks to a friend on the phone voicing her frustration about “physically still being 15 years old.” Physical signs of puberty are a growth spurt, pubic hair growth, and, in girls, a widening of hips, beginning of men...