I caught the last 20 minutes or so of Sixteen Candles on TV tonight. I think we watched that movie at every slumber party I ever attended in high school. We couldn't get enough of it. Every time Jake showed up at the end of the wedding in his red Porsche to whisk Samantha away, we'd swoon.

And then we'd watch the closing credits intently to learn the name of the actor who played Jake. I did the same thing tonight for old times' sake, even though I could've hit the pause button on the TiVo, or just Googled him (if only we'd had these technologies in 1985).

But then, of course, I did Google him. His name is Michael Schoeffling, and he supposedly lives in Pennsylvania now. According to IMDb, he's had a few acting jobs since Sixteen Candles. Would you believe that the guy who played Long Duk Dong has had more roles? A lot more roles. Who would've thought? But the most unbelievable thing that I learned about Michael Schoeffling? He's now 45 years old! Forty-five!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 at 12:53 AM.