Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald) has her 16th birthday but her family are so wrapped up in the impending wedding of her sister Ginny (Blanche Baker) that they have completely overlooked this ('they've forgotten my f******g birthday!'). Her parents (Paul Dooley and Caroline Glynn) are nuts, her grandparents make remarks about her breasts and embarrass her. To add to that, Chinese exchange student Long Duc Dong (donggg!) played by Gedde Watanabe is staying with them.
Ted 'The Geek' (Anthony Hall) hits on her at every opportunity. She meanwhile has the hots for school hunk Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) but he is in a relationship with Carolyn Mulford (Haviland Morris) who is perfect, and we get graphic evidence from the shower scene! The school dance section is beautifully observed. The dialogue between Sam and Ted is wryly constructed ('A lot can happen in a year – you could come back next fall as a completely normal person'. 'Yeah?') and there are some wonderfully surreal moments.
This film has a lot of similar elements to John Hughes' later film Ferris Bueller, though with not such strong leads. Ringwald is good but the others not so good. The scene between Hall and Schoeffling is weak and once Ringwald drops out from the action, the drawn-out end of the film drags a bit.
There are almost too many comedic elements and so most don't get fully developed. However, I did like the recurring character of the girl in the neck brace. And the music is very cool, even thirty years on (Bowie, Paul Young, Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Nick Heyward, Patti Smith, Altered Images and The Thompson Twins).
I watched it, enjoyed it and would happily see some scenes again. But viewed as a whole – not as good as Ferris.
Ted 'The Geek' (Anthony Hall) hits on her at every opportunity. She meanwhile has the hots for school hunk Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) but he is in a relationship with Carolyn Mulford (Haviland Morris) who is perfect, and we get graphic evidence from the shower scene! The school dance section is beautifully observed. The dialogue between Sam and Ted is wryly constructed ('A lot can happen in a year – you could come back next fall as a completely normal person'. 'Yeah?') and there are some wonderfully surreal moments.
This film has a lot of similar elements to John Hughes' later film Ferris Bueller, though with not such strong leads. Ringwald is good but the others not so good. The scene between Hall and Schoeffling is weak and once Ringwald drops out from the action, the drawn-out end of the film drags a bit.
There are almost too many comedic elements and so most don't get fully developed. However, I did like the recurring character of the girl in the neck brace. And the music is very cool, even thirty years on (Bowie, Paul Young, Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Nick Heyward, Patti Smith, Altered Images and The Thompson Twins).
I watched it, enjoyed it and would happily see some scenes again. But viewed as a whole – not as good as Ferris.