KnockBack, Episode 211: Sixteen Candles (Patreon)

We love John Hughes here on KnockBack. The (sadly deceased) American filmmaker and writer is perhaps best-known for his work on the likes of Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, and Home Alone. But before he got to any of those films -- and the rest of his legion of '80s masterpieces -- he undertook Sixteen Candles, which also happens to be his directorial debut after a series of writing gigs, including with National Lampoons. Starring Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall, two staples of his actor stable, Sixteen Candles is a surreal, funny, and emotional movie about a 16-year old girl whose family forgets her big day... and all that happens thereafter. However, there's a lot of weird stuff in this film, too: Implied sexual assault, casual racism, and more. All told, just where does Sixteen Candles fit in the Hughes Pantheon? Good and bad alike: Let's discuss.