SIXTEEN CANDLES

I’m pretty sure that John Hughes is responsible for my survival of high school. Beneath the comic exaggerations and sweet romanticism, the ordinary geeks in his films all gave me the same life-changing advice: “Prepare for the worst, but don’t stop hoping for the best.” And no character exemplifies this wisdom better than Samantha Baker in SIXTEEN CANDLES. Whenever I had a particularly rough day in school, or an extremely awkward encounter with my unrequited crush, I always reminded myself that Samantha had it worse. Like, did a freshman guy ever try to dance with me while spastically yelling, “Very hot! Very hot!” Um, no. Did my entire family ever forget my birthday? No way! Did my grandmother ever feel me up? HECK NO. Samantha, on the other hand, endured all of that crap (and more!) and she STILL got to kiss the hottest senior over a tasty birthday cake in a super posh house. In celebration of those tiny (yet monumental) teenage triumphs over adversity and awkwardness, I invite you to join me for Girlie Night, where we’ll pass sex test notes, stare obsessively at Jake Ryan and toast to the wonderful legacy of John Hughes. (Sarah Pitre)