The 1986 film “Sixteen Candles” tells a timeless story about growing up in suburban America. The film's star, Sam, played by Molly Ringwald, wakes up with high expectations on her sweet sixteenth birthday only to be completely disappointed. Not only does she discover that she is exactly the same as when she was fifteen, but her family is so worried about her older sister's wedding that they forget her birthday altogether. The film opens with Sam on the phone with his best girlfriend Randy. She's examining herself in her full-length mirror and is totally horrified to discover that her body hasn't magically transformed overnight. He hoped to wake up with a body just like Caroline's. Caroline is the head cheerleader, prom queen, and girlfriend of the most popular boy in school, Jake Ryan. Sam is madly “in love” with Jake and is convinced that he won't know she exists until she's more developed, more mature, more like Caroline. She doesn't know that Jake notices her. He's intrigued by a certain erroneous note containing some very personal information about Sam's sex life (or lack of one). On this note, Sam confesses that she is a virgin (she never has) and that she doesn't want to save herself for marriage, but for Jake Ryan. Jake finds himself wanting to get to know Sam and wanting a real relationship with someone like her, rather than someone like Caroline. He knows Caroline doesn't love him, and he doesn't love her either. The only real reason they're together is because he's the most popular boy in school and she's the most popular girl. Throughout the film, Sam is worried about becoming more like Caroline, while the real reason Jake is interested in her is because she's not like Caroline. At the end of the film Sam learns a valuable lesson about being herself and even manages to convince the boy along the way. This film contains some classic examples of the types of real-life problems that teenagers face. Themes such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film. Sam's high school is like any stereotypical high school with its various social crowds. The popular audience in this movie is mostly made up of athletes and cheerleaders. These teenagers appear to be the most physically attractive and have the wealthiest parents.