Sweet Sixteen (1928) is a bit messy but I kind of liked it.

You should probably only watch this if you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind reading title cards for an hour and enjoys seeing how people used to dress up for parties 100 years ago.

It’s for the silent movie completists or anyone who has a weird obsession with 1920s hair. If you need explosions or people actually talking, you’re gonna hate this one.

I went into this not expecting much, and honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Helen Foster plays Cynthia, and she has this face that just works for the camera, even when the plot gets a little thin.

The whole movie is about her turning sixteen and suddenly everyone treats her like she’s a different species. Her parents get all protective and the boys in town start acting like total creeps, which I guess hasn't changed much since 1928.

There is this one scene at her birthday party where she's wearing a dress with so many frills I thought she might blow away if a window opened. The lighting is actually pretty decent for a movie this old, though some of the indoor scenes look like they were filmed in a basement with one lamp.

I noticed that Reginald Sheffield, who plays the love interest, looks about thirty years old. We are supposed to believe he’s a teenager, but he has the face of a man who has seen a war and paid a mortgage for a decade. It’s a bit distracting.

The acting is very big. Like, when someone is sad, they don't just cry; they collapse onto a sofa and vibrate. It reminds me of the energy in The Strong Man, but without the intentional jokes.

I found myself wondering if people actually moved like that back then. Probably not, but it makes for a fun watch if you like dramatic hand gestures.

There’s a character played by Carolynne Snowden who pops up briefly. She’s great, but I wish she had more to do besides just being in the background of the fancy house scenes.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sweet Sixteen (1928) through its definitive frames.

The plot moves along at a weird pace. Some parts feel like they take forever—like a scene where a guy just stares at a letter for what feels like five minutes—and then other big moments happen in a flash.

It lacks the polish of something like It's the Old Army Game, which feels much more professional in its timing. But there is a charm to how scrappy Sweet Sixteen feels.

I liked the title cards, even though they are a bit preachy. One of them talks about 'the bloom of youth' in a way that made me roll my eyes, but hey, that was the vibe in the late twenties.

At one point, the dad gets into this huge argument with Cynthia about a boy, and he looks so angry I thought his mustache might fall off. He spends the rest of the movie looking like he just smelled something incredibly sour.

If you've seen 13 Washington Square, you’ll recognize the kind of heavy shadows they use here. It gives the house a sort of spooky feeling that doesn't really match the teen romance plot, but I dug it anyway.

The ending is kind of a shrug. It doesn’t really resolve everything in a way that feels earned, it just sort of... stops? Like they ran out of film or the actors had a bus to catch.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it’s a cool look at a time when 'sweet sixteen' meant something way more stressful than it does now. It’s definitely more interesting than Jazz Mad, which I found a bit too slow even for my taste.

If you’re bored on a rainy afternoon and want to see some 1920s drama, give it a go. Just don't expect it to change your life or anything.

Oh, and keep an eye out for the dog. I think it’s the best actor in the whole movie, honestly. It’s the only one that doesn’t look like it’s trying to win an Oscar by staring into the sun.

Maybe check out Go West, Young Woman after this if you want something with a bit more kick. This one is more of a quiet, slightly dusty sit.