Sixteen Candles was John Hughes’ directorial debut and set in motion a string of stories about teenage life and “coming of age” in high school with movies like The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Set in suburban of Chicago, Samantha “Sam” Baker (Molly Ringwald) is a high school sophomore hopeful that her 16th birthday will be the beginning of a great year. However, her “sweet sixteen” is severely overshadowed by her sister’s upcoming wedding. At school, Sam fills out a friend’s quiz revealing her crush on senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). Unfortunately, Sam has another, and unpopular, admirer in geeky freshman Ted (Anthony Michael Hall). The rest of Sam’s birthday ensues with a series of unfortunate yet hilarious events that lead to better things. The film was criticized for an ethnic stereotype and some sexual references. — Rebecca Mendez

Rated: PG