Sixteen Candles

One of my favorite 1980s movies is "Sixteen Candles," written and directed by the late and great John Hughes. I was only 10 when the film was released in early 1984, and, unfortunately, I didn't see it in the theater. I did see it on VHS in about 1985, and loved it from first viewing. What's not to love? Molly Ringwald stars as Samantha Baker playing the redheaded, freckle-faced, well-meaning 16 year-old that countless teenage girls and gay guys could relate to. Anthony Michael Hall is Ted aka The Geek, a spastic, earnest, and endearing freshman. And, of course, there's Michael Schoeffling as Jake Ryan, the paragon of dreamy guys. Jake is handsome, kind, thoughtful, and considerate. Did I mention that he's smoking hot? Everything a girl or gay guy could ask for in a man. And then some. Like many girls and gay guys of the 80s, Jake Ryan represented the ideal boyfriend for me. I'll admit it, he still does. It's hard to believe that the reclusive Michael Schoeffling will turn 50 later this year. Schoeffling is evidently a furniture craftsman in an Aidan Shaw-esque way.

This article from the "Washington Post," "Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of Sixteen Candles" by Hank Stuever written in 2004 says it all.

I was definitely influenced by Hughes and the Jake Ryan ideal. After searching for many years for my own Jake Ryan, my first long-term boyfriend was a guy named Jake who I dated from 2001 to 2004. Unfortunately, this Jake was no Jake Ryan. I can now accept that an actual Jake Ryan type of guy probably doesn't exist, but I still believe in a world where that's possible. How could I not?