MovieChat Forums > Sixteen Candles (1984) Discussion > Problems/Issues I have with this film 28...

Problems/Issues I have with this film 28 years later.

posted 13 years ago by JohnQ1127
75 replies | jump to latest

I remember seeing this film when it came out and I was still in high school. I also remember being a big fan of this film when it was shown on cable and later on when it came out on VHS during the 1980's. I watched this the other night on HBO and was kind of shocked that it wasn't the sweet comedy I remembered in my youth. Maybe I'm just older, smarter, or more mature or maybe we're a little more civilized then we were 30 years ago. I think I was most shocked by the casual treatment of rape and treatment of Caroline the Prom Queen.

I was troubled by 15 themes or incidents in this film:

1-Farmer Ted/Date Rape? This is something that people just didn't talk about back in '84 but Farmer Ted essentially rapes Caroline in Jakes father's car. She's inebriated and unable to give consent yet Ted has sex with her.

2-Rape is Love. The morning after the date-rape incident the Prom Queen admits that she actually "enjoyed" it and is now in love with the geek. Was there a bizarre date-rape fantasy theme in 80's movies because I seem to remember this similar theme repeated in several 80's films.

3-Caroline/Misogyny. Jake essentially "gives" the inebriated Caroline to a total stranger (Ted the Geek) and tells him to basically to "have fun" and "take her home" wink, wink. Jake also tells the inebriated caroline that Ted is really Jake thus it's okay to have sex with him. I guess In this film It's okay to have the Geek rape her because she's the prom queen and a bitch.

4-Jake the romantic hero? Jake tells the geek referring to Caroline, "I could violate her 10 different ways if I wanted to" WTF?? Wow, what a romantic guy. He's the hero? He gives his inebriated girl-friend to a total stranger and implies that he can have sex with her as long as he gets her home?

5-Long Duck Dong. This has to be one of the most racist characters in film during the last 50 odd years. His character is like some cartoon version of an Asian person from the 1940's. I guess he's supposed to Chinese but his name is Vietnamese and there's a point in the film when he's in a tree wearing a Japanese samurai outfit yelling Banzai?? Also not to mention they give him a name that's the sounds like a large duck's penis in English.

6-"A Black One". This didn't seem that bad back then but it's kind of awkward today.

7-The Rizchecks- The "Oily Beau-hunk" is Italian so of coarse in this film that means that his father is involved in organized crime/mafia.

*beep* retarded". I guess were more sensitive about these words today.

9-There's a weird scene at the end of the wedding were Mr. Rizcheck pays the reverend to kiss his wife?? There's also a disturbing part were Grandpa Fred is "encouraging" Rudy to get his granddaughter into the back of the limo.

10-"Chinamon". Even the little brother refers to Dong as "Chinamon"

11-25 year old Jake.

12-Cinderealla Myth. Usually in the classic Cinderella myth the girl/woman goes through some kind of drastic transformation in order to get the prince to notice her and win his hear. In this film, Sam doesn't change at all yet we are to believe that Jake becomes head over heels in love with her because she's just an average girl who secretly wishes to have sex with him.

13-Rescue the princess/Slay the dragon. Usually in the classic rescue the princess/slay the dragon myth the boy/man has to do some kind of extraordinary courageous deed in order to win the heart of Princess/Queen. I guess by the 1980's all you had to do was trick the queen or get her drunk and then you could just rape her.

15-Shallow Sam. Why does she love Jake? Because he's cute and rich? That seems rather shallow. And what if he gets "bored" with her as well? What happens if she gets drunk at a party? Will Jake "violate" 10 different ways?

Not to mention the plot is ridiculous. Rich good looking Seniors don't "suddenly" drop their gorgeous Prom Queen girlfriends in order date some average Sophomore. Senior Prom Queens don't fall in love with Freshman geek hipsters that date-rape them.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] daughterofolaf 11 years ago

Caroline was absolutely not raped. She was not even date-raped.

You're not smarter or more mature. The problem is that a stick has been lodged in your ass. You should probably have that checked.

"It's Minnie Pearl's murder weapon."

[–] bhilburn 11 years ago

Yeah she wanted it!

"check the imdb cast list before asking who portrayed who in movies please"

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 10 years ago

No. That's the thing. These people think women have no personal agency whatsoever. Women can't make their own choices... like getting drunk and allowing some boy to stick his penis in them. The way she was versus the way he was, I bet money that she was the one forcing herself on him. But, we don't know because we didn't get to see that part. Besides, he's 15 and she's 18 and they're both pretty hammered. If you want to accuse this boy of date rape, you'd have to arrest A LOT of men in the process.

[–] Obnoxiously-Adorable 11 years ago

Other than 3 and parts of 4, everything can be explained, however awkward it may be. Jake's being tired of his girlfriend isn't that surprising given her personality, and he's clearly only with her because it's what's expected of him. (ie: two popular pretty people). It was shown in other parts of the movie that he isn't the typical knuckle-dragging Neanderthal and is curious enough about Sam and disgusted enough with Caroline that he's open to pursuing a relationship with Sam-not your typical jock hunk often portrayed in movies.

HOWEVER, the dialogue between he and Ted regarding Ted taking her home is completely contradictory to the whole nice-guy-who-just-happens-to-be-gorgeous-and-popular Hughes was painting him to be up until that point. What was said could have been dangerous to other gals found in similar situations with other guys who may have taken that to heart. Of course, the same could be said of any movie, and parental responsibility (raising your boys and girls to know right from wrong) should comprise a much larger part of a child's thought process than what they see in a movie, and even though things are worse in that area than they were back then it is still the same, that's another discussion.

It's all negated by the fact that they were both drunk, not just her, and blackout drunk at that, well established by their conversation when they woke up. In that situation no one should be at fault, both parties should take responsibility for their own actions, suck it up, move on, and not do it again. Jake wasn't nearly as drunk as they were (if at all?), and presumably his words came from not a place of inebriation but actual resentment for his bitch of a shallow girlfriend, which as I stated before flies in the face of the personality Hughes had thus far set him up with. I would expect people to have more of a problem with the fact that the movie almost glorifies drunk driving by making it hilarious than some of the things you listed, lol.

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[–] robynconner89-111-587709 10 years ago

Mr. Rizcheck didn't pay the reverend to kiss his wife. Rizcheck was simply giving him some money as a way of thanking him for performing the wedding ceremony (which is customary). His very inappropriate wife grabbed the priest and kissed him on the lips, which is NOT customary.

[–] jeffnova 10 years ago

Mr Rizchek doesn't pay the reverend to kiss his wife. He's making a donation to the church in appreciation for the reverends services. A common practice. Mrs Rizckek kisses the reverend on the lips cuz she's tacky and probably tipsey.

[–] MoviemanCin 9 years ago

Oh relax and enjoy the friggin' movie, John! It's just a comedy. Don't go all PC Police on us.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

[–] alomba1328 9 years ago

Ted is underage and was more inebriated than Caroline was. If anyone was raped, it was him, not her.

[–] whitespirit26 9 years ago

John, please step out of whatever hyper PC college you're attending and try to remember the decade this movie came out, that it's a comedy, and that none of the characters considered rape because they were not written to be rotten monsters. Then take a deep breath and watch it again.