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Sixteen Candles

Summary: A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Runtime: 1 h 33 min
MPAA: PG

Country: United States
Language: English
Movie budget: $ 6,500,000
Domestic: $ 23,686,027

Box office:

Budget:$6.5MDomestic:$23.7MWorldwide:$23.7M

Adaptation/remake:

title based on song

Possible Big Business:

Production:

Universal Pictures

4%
81%85%

61/10066/100
44%6%
White88.89%Jewish5.56%Asian5.56%
0.65

LGBTQ content included:

gay

Possibly woke elements:

class differences

BechdeltestPassed!

Commonsensemedia

Role model1/5
Violence2/5
Sex4/5
Language3/5
Drugs4/5

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Cast
Other Cast, Production

Other cast:

Representation
RaceWhiteAsianTotalVisualsInfo
Kairos10212
Ethnic44
Forebears22
Total16218
Cast Percentages88.89%11.11%100%
U.S. Population (1980) Percentage79.6%1.55%
Source:
US Census
(Note: Racial and ethnic categories overlap so the sum will not equal 100%.)
U.S. Population (1980) Representation+9.29+9.56
U.S. Buying Power (2000) Percentage81.25%3.5%
U.S. Buying Power (2000) Representation+7.64+7.61
U.S. Average Individual Income (2018) Percentage84.16%1.82%
U.S. Average Individual Income (2018) Representation+4.73+9.29
World population (1984) Percentage19.21%35.56%
NOTE: ZR is the first organization to ever create a global buying power divided by race. Essentially we just took data from CIA.gov FactBook, UN Population Estimates, and The World Bank's Population Estimates / Purchasing Power Parity Per Capita.
World population (1984) Representation+69.68-24.45
World Buying Power Percentage36.48%29.46%
NOTE: ZR is the first organization to ever create a global buying power divided by race. Essentially we just took data from CIA.gov FactBook, UN Population Estimates, and The World Bank's Population Estimates / Purchasing Power Parity Per Capita.
World Buying Power Representation+52.41-18.35
Notes
The US Census considers Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Indian, and Bangladeshi as Asians. At ZR we group Pakistanis with the Arab world. And we group Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi with India because 1.) they are all genetically similar as "South Asians and 2.) there are only a handful of actors from those regions in our database.

However, you are viewing the "Asian Alone" category from the US Census when comparing it with Domestic representation. Also note that the 2000 and 2010 estimates include MultiRacial Asians not just "Asian Alone" estimates, and in some categories they include Native Hawaiians as "Asian."

So there is a margin of error less than 1% and some inconsistencies with the grouping.
Tags / Keywords
16 year old16 year old girl16th birthday1980s1980s filmasian stereotypebeerbirthdaybirthday cakebirthday girlblonde girlbrat packbreaking the fourth wallbreastsbridal veilbrother sister relationshipcar accidentcar hopcartoon on tvchild drives a carchin upchurchclass differencescoming of ageconvertiblecoors beercrushcult filmdental bracesdental headgeardirectorial debutdream girldrive in restaurantdrunkennessdysfunctional familyethnic slurexchange studentfamily relationshipsfarcefather daughter relationshipfemale frontal nudityfemale full rear nudityfemale nudityfemale protagonistfemale removes her clothesfirst datefirst loveforgotten birthdayfuture in lawsgay slurgeekgirl with short hairgrandfathergrandmotherhigh schoolhigh school dancehigh school studenthouseguestillinoisjapanesejapanese boyjocklifting someone into the airlingerielooking at the cameraloss of virginitymale female relationshipmarriagemother daughter relationshipmuscle relaxantnerdnight vision gogglespantiespartyperson in a car trunkphotographpizzaporschequirky comedyrecord playerreference to a christmas storyrestaurantrestroomrolls royce convertibleschool busself discoveryshowershower roomshy girlsister sister relationshipsomebody under a tablesuburbteen angstteen comedyteen movieteen romanceteenage boyteenage girlteenage girl as protagonistteenage protagonistteenagertimeframe 1980stitle based on songtwo word titleunderage drinkingunderage sexunderwearunrequited loveveilweddingwedding ceremony gone awrywedding dresswedding veilwhite pantieswild partywritten by directoryellow panties
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Parental Guide

Parental Guide: +add

This film gets a 0.65/5 family friendly score

MPAA CertificationNo MPAA rating found yet. Add Family Friendly Rating?

IMDb Rating

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088128/parentalguide

last updated: 2024-10-26Update data

Commonsensemedia Rating

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/sixteen-candles

last updated: 2024-10-26Update data

Message
0/5

While the movie doesn't raise profound issues, it addresses the difficulty of the teen/high school years in a way that teens can relate to. Sam's happiness is very much wrapped up in a guy.

Role model
1/5

At the film's center is a plucky teenage heroine with whom girls can identify. That said, the Chinese exchange student is reduced to a grossly offensive stereotype, and Sam's elderly grandparents don't fare much better. Jake is earnestly sweet about his interest in Sam, but he doesn't demonstrate much respect for his longtime girlfriend, Carolyn.

Violence
2/5

Mild slapstick violence. In one scene, it's implied that a teen boy had sex with a girl while she was passed-out drunk.

Sex
4/5

Teens and sex are central, with lots of talk about body parts, much of it vulgar. Kissing. A shower scene shows a girl's naked torso. A high school kid coaxes a girl into giving him her panties and shows them to bathroom full of freshmen for a dollar. Drunken sex is implied.

Language
3/5

Some use of the words "f--k" and "s--t."

Drugs
4/5

Teens drink to the point of passing out. Hung-over characters question whether they were intimate while drunk. A woman overdoes muscle-relaxant pills and gets completely loopy.

Methodology
Other sources
Global Consensus
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