MovieChat Forums > Sixteen Candles (1984) Discussion > Mean-spirited

Mean-spirited

posted 13 years ago by lizzyben04
85 replies | jump to latest

I watched this movie because I'm such a fan of Hughes' other films (Breakfast Club, etc.), but I was surprised by how mean-spirited & even offensive this movie was.

Racism - the "gong" whenever the Chinese guy is mentioned, endless jokes about his Chinese name, really over the top stereotyping, "a black guy??" etc.

Sexism - joking about rape, the 'hero' Jake giving his drunk girlfriend to a horny 14-year-old to drive safely home, w/the implication that he can score, Jake kicking the door closed on his girlfriend's hair & leaving her there, older sister turned into a fool at her wedding. There was a theme of humiliating/humbling the "blonde chick" throughout really.

General meanspiritedness - the periodic shots of a girl in a brace trying to drink, dance, etc, for laughs.

I don't know, this movie left a bad taste in my mouth. And this is from someone who likes Hughes movies, or even Farrelly movies. I'm used to un-PC stuff in comedies, but maybe the difference here was the general kind of meanness that seemed to run through the movie. Flame away, but I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way.

[–] QOK (1504) 5 years ago

Snowflake

[–] TheArgentinian (7069) 4 years ago

It needs to be banned from streaming services.

[–] BourbonKing (5777) 4 years ago

You're finally realizing that John Hughes loved celebrating the ignorant entitled culture of upper middle class white America.

As a Californian, I remember encountering these entitled Twats quite often when I worked at Disneyland and then later as an adult when many migrated here to go to college.

Ferris Buller is another example of this type of culture

[–] rateater (10016) 4 years ago

this is how life really was back then