I watched it with my 10 year old daughter and had to cover her eyes and discuss the swearing and drunkedness throughout the movie. She said she hears the 13 year olds in her school talk like that all the time, so I would rate it PG13. The positive message will resonate far better with teens than with tweens.
Sixteen Candles
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Racy, drunken, hilarious '80s high school comedy.
Themes in this movie include: dating/crushes, family relationships, growing up
updated 10.09.09
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 15–16
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Sixteen Candles was written by Randy White
Parents need to know that this is a hilarious high school comedy with sharply observed moments. The early '80s score will sound dated to some, but for others, it will be a walk down memory lane. But bear in mind that this is also an adult comedy with teen characters. The teens drink, have sex, and talk about birth control. Parents may want to exercise caution with more impressionable kids, and especially preteens or younger. But this smart exploration of adolescent life will be fun for teens and adults.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about Sam's insecurity about her body. How could her family have eased some of the anxiety of adolescence?
- Discuss the stereotype of Long Duk Dong, and how that stereotype has changed today.
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Sixteen Candles
What’s the Story?
Sam (Molly Ringwald) is turning 16, but her family has forgotten her birthday because of her sister's impending wedding. At school, Sam has a crush on a senior, Jake, who might not know she's alive. Fortunately for Sam, Jake is tiring of his prom-queen girlfriend. With help from a freshman super-geek (Anthony Michael Hall), Jake sets his sights on Sam, but will he find her amidst her sister's wedding chaos to fulfill her birthday wish?
Is It Any Good?
SIXTEEN CANDLES is a hair-raising tour of adolescence. Sam is a girl in the throes of her first crush, and she's desperately insecure about her body. A sublimely awkward dork dogs her heels, alternately yearning for approval and crassly propositioning her. She's infatuated with a senior god and intimidated by his goddess girlfriend.
The movie doesn't raise profound issues or craft scenes of special beauty. However, this is John Hughes at his best; he captures the nuances of adolescent slang and recreates the little humiliations that can make teen life a living hell. It's all in the details: When Sam's grandmother checks out Sam's "perky boobies" with a squeeze, you'll wonder how anyone gets through high school.
Movie Details
Studio: Universal Pictures, Director: John Hughes
Run time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/1/1984, DVD release: 1/19/1999
MPAA Rating: R for sexual and mature themes
Run time: 93 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/1/1984, DVD release: 1/19/1999
MPAA Rating: R for sexual and mature themes
Our Members Say
See all 24 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
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I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
A great movie, but save it for older teens.
I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. I watched it the other day on a movie channel and it had nudity! It shows a girl in the shower, the top half of her body fully exposed. I had to check the rating and couldn't believe it was rated PG. For a movie to have frontal nudity and the F-word, it should have an R rating. I didn't remember it having nudity when I watched it years ago.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
I LOOOVE this movie! Long Duk Dong is hilarious and so is the geek! This is a perfect movie for a teen girl's sleepover or party!
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I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
Whoa, whoa, WHOA.
When I was in Greece, I turned on the movie channel and saw that this movie was on. I wanted to watch it, so I called my little brother into the room with me. Within five minutes the f-bomb was already dropped, and within 20 a naked girl's chest was shown. I turned it off immediately.
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
i first thought it would be great. then afterwards I wished the Geek had been more of a character and that Sam had appreciated him more. I thought jake and caroline were just plain bad characters. It starts off just fine, but quickly heads downhill.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
Another amazing John Hughes film
This is my 2nd favorite movie and is amazing!!!!
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
I loved this movie. Truly a great teen movie classic.
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
basically if you don't have a problem with a less than 30 second scene that shows boobs, then this movie is totally fine haha
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Negative role models
this movie is great for any teenager
i love this movie its a classic :)
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I rate this title on for age 7 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
funny, romance, chick flick
very cute and funny. this is a chick flick that gather people of all generations. i know my i, my mom and my sisters enjoy sitting down and watching this movie.
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
It's Rated PG but should be PG-13, maybe even R. The f-word is used a few times and there is one nude scene. It's a great teen film however and I really enjoyed it.
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
awesome movie. but not as good a ferris buelers day off
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
PG? More like Porno-Graphic!
How can this have POSSIBLY received a PG rating?!? The "f" word was used within 5 minutes! The teens talked about sex constantly. A view of a completely naked teenager in the gym shower was the point when we turned the movie off; it's way too explicit. How did this rightfully earn a PG rating? Take this 17 year old's advice: Do your kid a favor and don't let them watch it.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
13+ for sure.
This movie was rated "R", but got a "PG" on appeal and was released about 4 weeks before the "PG-13" rating was invented, so, that is why it's "PG". It's really not too bad of a movie. Pretty funny. Just a nude scene and use of the f-word (once) make it an extremely rough "PG".
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Negative role models
NOT THAT BAD!
I really liked this movie when I watched it with my Mom. The reason it is rated PG is because there was no such rating as PG13, which it would surely be now. I don't think it should be rated R, I mean, Titanic had nudity too, and that's PG13. Overall, it was a good movie but the messages weren't all that positive.
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Lives in FloridaI rate this title off for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
"PG" rating? This should be "R" or at least "PG-13"
We flipped the channel during a commercial to this movie which was on 'Encore'. It was rated PG which our 11 year can handle. However, the scene which came on was of female breast. Yes, full naked breast, nipples and all! In a close-up shot too! By the time I grabbed the remote to change the channel, it voomed out to show the girl in the shower...this scene showed a side view with 1 nipple showing and her naked butt. I was Horrified! Even my husband did a recheck on the rating for this movie and we were both shocked to see it was indeed listed as PG. Don't think this is appropriately rated. Nudity of any kind should not be rated with "PG".
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in the sick way
I saw the first ten minutes of the movie and I turned it off. A naked body, several F-bombs, talk about PMS, and thats just the first ten minutes. But 80's movies are still fun!
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I rate this title pause for age 16 and give it
12+?? Rated PG??
Just saw this movie and we were confused. WE thought the Netflix lable was just printed wrong but on the DVD sure enough PG! Weird.. Today a movie like this would be rated R. It's definitely not for tweens..older teens yes but not 12 year olds unless that's what you want your child to see. I personally wasn't impressed with the movie at all. I have alwasy heard stuff about it being a good movie and a classic that everyone's seen. It was sort of boring and sort of funny but definitely not HILARIOUS.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it has language their kids can't use |
| 80% | of parents say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking |
| 80% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
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