"I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek."

Right up there with "I carried a watermelon" is a particularly favorite quote of mine from Sixteen Candles: "I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek." It perfectly sums up Samantha's frustration with how stagnant and uneventful yet embarrassing her life is, even when she does something out of the ordinary (like lend her underwear to Farmer Ted). It's like she's saying, "Is this really my life?"

It's also a really great stand-alone quote. I would hope most people could identify it as being from Sixteen Candles, and for that very reason -- the quote's memorability -- it would do a great job of expressing frustration in most any life situations. Something akin to the more bland "I can't believe this is actually happening to me."

Go ahead, use the quote in everyday life. Worst case scenario, no one knows what you're talking about. [Of course, then you can just pride yourself on having better taste in and knowledge of movies than them.] Best case scenario? You'll realize that maybe your life isn't that bad; after all, you probably didn't give your panties to a geek. Right?

News of John Hughes's death made me start thinking about Sixteen Candles again. Man, was he great at those movies about how awkward yet fairy-tale-like high school can be. I love them. In fact, I think I'm going to go put Sixteen Candles in my dvd player right now...