Problems/Issues I have with this film 28 years later.
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discotrash1119 — 13 years ago(April 29, 2012 02:42 PM)
This was one of my favorite 80s movies, but yeah, I just watched it and have all of the same problems with it!
I also hate that Sam just ditches her sister's wedding reception to go on a first "date" with a boy she has never even spoken to beforeand her dad is okay with thiswith his youngest daughter missing the wedding reception of this oldest daughter. Just strange.
All the rape stuff is beyond creepy. Jake always reminded me of the guy I had a crush on in high school, looked just like him, which was one of the reasons I think I really liked this movie, but you are so rightthis would never ever happen in real life, and they don't even have any real story to make us believe that it might happenSam does nothing to attract Jake's eye, other than just exist. In real life, a normal looking sophomore would never ever even catch the eye of a guy like Jake. -
JohnQ1127 — 13 years ago(April 29, 2012 06:00 PM)
@dicotrash1119, Yeah, I mean there is no rhyme or reason why Jake thinks he can have a supposed "real relationship" with a girl he doesn't know or a girl he hasn't even talked to. The same thing for Sam, she doesn't know him or what he's about or anything. There's nothing really remarkable about Sam and all she does through the first half of the movie is complain and bitch that her family forgot her birthday.
Yeah that the father would be okay with his 16 year old daughter missing his eldest daughter's wedding reception so she can go out on a first date with some strange boy in a porsche is just ridiculous.
Also the Homecoming Queen falling in love with the Geek after he essentially raped her is equally ridiculous and kind of disturbing.
I'd seen the film about a dozen time but I hadn't seen the film in about 15 years. I was troubled at the way Jake just picks up his barely conscious girlfriend and throws her into his Dad's car so a total stranger (Ted the Geek) could have his way with her. And he actually encourages Ted to have his way with her no less!!
There's also a disturbing bit of dialogue regarding Caroline that goes something like:
Jake: I'm not hard up for a piece of ass, I have Caroline upstairs passed out and I could violate her 10 different ways but I don't want to.
Ted: What are waiting for!!!
So Jake is basically bragging that he could rape his girlfriend but he doesn't want to and Ted is astonished that he doesn't jump at the chance.
I'm in my 40's now so I see things in this film I didn't see when I was 18 plus I think we're more civilized/educated as a society as far as date-rape is concerned. I really don't even think people considered this rape back in 1984. -
laeyisoracle — 13 years ago(September 20, 2012 09:32 PM)
The whole Sam ditching the wedding reception didn't come across as being as bad as some of the other points the TC talked about. Within context, Sam's family DID forget about her 16th birthday(which, I hear, is supposed to be a special thing for girls I'm a guy, so my 16th kinda meant squat). Also, her sister was kinda a bitch. She really wasn't compassionate when Sam came to her about her feelings(though, every time Sam tries to tell her family about her birthday, they are always interrupting her, so I guess it runs int he family). She finally told her dad at night regarding Jake Ryan, which is why I think he let her go(that and feeling like a total dick that he forgot his own daughter's birthday). Though, given the amount of muscle relaxers the sister took, I doubt she'd even notice Sam was missing.
Meh, Pretty In Pink was a better movie. -
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TeaBunny — 13 years ago(July 05, 2012 09:53 PM)
"Let me guess, you're female and you have a problem with everything."
Oh, drop that "female" crap. I am female and I have no problem with the movie.
"Love means never having to say you're ugly." - the Abominable Dr. Phibes -
boxerrebellion — 11 years ago(October 25, 2014 11:56 PM)
I agree somewhat. If a woman who has been drinking cannot give consent, then how can a man who has been drinking be responsible for his actions? By the same token, if she can't give consent, is she responsible if she kills someone while DUI?
It's a fantasy, from the sophmore girl's POV. Much like Twilight reads like a pubescent girl's fantasy date with David Cassidy in the 70s; you know, like a diary entry. Except this is much more entertaining. Part of the point is the stupid reverence of wealth in the 80s. Look at Risky Business or St. Elmo's. -
tchr88 — 13 years ago(July 27, 2012 10:03 AM)
My interpretation is that this movie was an exaggeration of the teen angst of the time. I guess the movie seems a little outdated nowadays, just like "American Graffiti" was outdated in 1985.
Am I right or am I right or am I right? Right? Right?? ~~ Ned Ryerson -
maixiu — 11 years ago(November 08, 2014 12:26 PM)
It wasn't sending out any "messages", you uptight killjoys. Why is it so difficult for people to grasp what this movie was about? It wasn't made in the PC-soaked climate of today. Although such restrictions on humor/thought/speech were already a gathering storm on the horizon in 1984, it was still possible to make a movie where sh-t just happened and nobody got uptight about it. You either watched it and enjoyed it, watched it and didn't enjoy it, or ignored it altogether. Whichever of these options you chose, you moved on and didn't get your panties in a twist about some g-ddamn message that wasn't there to begin with.
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EmmaPopell — 11 years ago(January 21, 2015 02:54 PM)
Amen, maixiu. These over-analyzations of old movies by newer Humans are amusing. I still love alot of movies made before everyone got so butt-hurt over slurs about this or thatJeeez~~ This OP is a perfect example of someone dissecting a film that does not need to be examined any further.
16 Candles: It is what it is. And I love it. -
ohsorry — 13 years ago(August 14, 2012 02:57 PM)
This has always been my favorite movie, and as I get older, I just let the Jake beep slide.
I will say though I always thought that the Geek and Caroline didn't actually have sex, they both just thought they did because they were wasted. They wake up with all of their clothes on. -
JohnQ1127 — 13 years ago(August 22, 2012 07:45 AM)
The Geek and Prom Queen have sex at the end of the movie. He, essentially rapes the prom queen at the end of movie and it's summed up as "Rape is Love". The whole "Rape is Love" was disturbingly though somewhat popular theme in a lot of those 70's-80's teen movies.
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laeyisoracle — 13 years ago(September 20, 2012 09:14 PM)
The Geek and Prom Queen have sex at the end of the movie. He, essentially rapes the prom queen at the end of movie and it's summed up as "Rape is Love". The whole "Rape is Love" was disturbingly though somewhat popular theme in a lot of those 70's-80's teen movies.
But, did they REALLY have sex, or is it just "implied" they could've? I ask that because, given the moment, I think Farmer Ted would've flaked out before he actually got himself some. Add on to that the fact that, despite some of them being played by way older actors/actresses(Haviland Morris was considerably older than a teen), if we think about the whole teen angle(and this really hasn't changed throughout the years), teens always put up that BS front. They always lie about things they say they've done to make themselves look cooler than they actually are. Even now, 2012, teens really haven't changed THAT much regarding that. Kids always BS, they did back in the 80s, they'll BS decades from now.
Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 