Sixteen Candles, 1984 - ★★★½
One upon a time, American kids could let it all hang out without much fear of consequence beyond a little emotional scarring. Sixteen Candles has such affection for its highly imperfect characters without leaning into much sentiment.
Some of the best needle drops of any Hughes film.
Clearly perfected this formula in Christmas Vacation, but this (somewhat) rawer portrayal of America in the 80’s still hits.