Fall film series kicks off with ‘Sixteen Candles’

The Churchill Arts Council begins its Fall Film Series with the 1984 hit, “Sixteen Candles” on Friday followed by The Breakfast Club” on Oct. 12 and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on Oct. 19,

The box office, Art Bar and galleries open at 6 p.m. with the movie beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7, members; $10 nonmembers. A movie special offers the three movies for $18 members and $27 for nonmembers. Tickets are available at the box office on the night of screening or call CAC at 775-423-1440.

Written and directed by former Chicago ad man, John Hughes, this is the first of a veritable onslaught of teen angst comedies that gave the world “The Brat Pack.”

Molly Ringwald stars as Samantha “Sam” Baker, a girl facing numerous emotional challenges on her 16th birthday. Her family, focused on the wedding of her older sister, Ginny, forgets her birthday; she’s in love with senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), who she thinks doesn’t know she exists; and she’s pursued by a geeky freshman, Ted (Anthony Michael Hall).

Ringwald and Hall both won Young Artist Awards as “Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture” and “Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture” for their roles in the film, becoming the first and only juvenile performers in the history of the Young Artist Awards to win the Best Leading Actress and Best Leading Actor awards for the same film.

Renown movie critic Roger Ebert gave it three thumbs up or stars.

“‘Sixteen Candles’ contains most of the scenes that are obligatory in teenage movies: The dance, the makeout session, the party that turns into a free-for-all. But writer and director John Hughes doesn’t treat them as subjects for exploitation; he listens to these kids. For example, on the night of the dance, Samantha ends up in the shop room with the Geek. They’re sitting in the front seat of an old car. The Geek acts as if he’s sex-mad. Samantha tells him to get lost. Then, in a real departure for this kind of movie, they really start to talk, and it turns out they’re both lonely, insecure, and in need of a good friend.”