As a decade, the ’80s saw movies about high school churned out with the frequency of pop quizzes from your most hated math teacher. The characters that inhabited them were in the throes of heat at all levels (mostly depending on the MPAA rating). Being popular, vanquishing a bully, winning over a true love or losing your virginity were all common themes that ran throughout. But writer/director John Hughes presented this precious time in adolescence like no other filmmaker of that era. His high schools were fertile ground for uniquely outlandish comedy, palpable heartbreak or both. Harnessing the former while cradling the latter, Sixteen Candles is perhaps the holy grail of the ’80s teen movie. Written in language that truly resonated with moviegoers, it contained one memorable quote after the next. Here are each character’s best.
