Hughes's directorial debut, Sixteen Candles, won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due in no small part to its more honest depiction of navigating adolescence and the social dynamics of high school life in stark contrast to the Porky's-inspired comedies made at the time. It was the first in a string of efforts about teenage life set in or around high school, including The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, all of which he wrote and directed, and Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful, which he wrote.
