Sixteen Candles' Farmer Ted. Wha?

November 16, 2006 12:32 PM

Why the hell is Anthony Michael Hall called "Farmer Ted" in "Sixteen Candles"?

I remember him telling Molly Ringwald, with some embarrassment, that he's not really a farmer, but does anybody know how his character got that nickname?

posted by Astro Zombie to media & arts (17 comments total)

Samantha is sitting with her friends at the dance when Ted walks over and sits down next to her. Couple of lines, then he says "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" As Samantha thinks he is a dork who she wishes would leave her alone, she says "This is Farmer Fred"

Ted: "Ted."
Samantha: "Oh, I'm sorry, this is Farmer Ted".

That's it, no big mystery, just a girl trying to embarrass a guy.

Please do not ask me questions about why I can recite this movie verbatim.
posted by vignettist at 12:47 PM on November 16, 2006 [1 favorite]

I don't buy it. I think she doesn't remember that he's called Farmer Ted. I mean, why would you embarrass someone by calling him a farmer?

Your answer raises more quations than it resolves.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:50 PM on November 16, 2006

Growing up in the suburbs, as I did, you have to have someone to mock. You tend to mock hicks. Thus, "farmer".

Does it make sense? Probably not. But since when do teenage years make sense?
posted by pdb at 12:53 PM on November 16, 2006

Thank you pdb, I'm also from the 'burbs, so this line always made sense to me, I never questioned it.

Astro Zombie, he's not called Farmer Fred/Ted anywhere else in the movie, so I don't understand your point about Samantha not remembering that he's called Farmer Ted.
posted by vignettist at 1:06 PM on November 16, 2006

I haven't seen that movie, but I remember the antagonism between the kids from the better-off white-collar suburbs and the poorer suburbs. Using 'farmer' as an insult makes sense to me.
posted by ardgedee at 1:10 PM on November 16, 2006

Interesting. I went to high school in the suburbs and we never made fun of farmers, but perhaps we were unusual.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:14 PM on November 16, 2006

Actually vignettist, just to be pedantic, he refers to himself as Farmer Ted at the end of the movie, when he wakes up with Caroline in the church parking lot.

But I still think you're correct about her trying to embarrass him.
posted by veronica sawyer at 1:18 PM on November 16, 2006

was he wearing overalls?
posted by jbelkin at 1:19 PM on November 16, 2006

IIRC, he's in the credits as "Farmer Ted/The Geek," which makes me think there's more to in than a throwaway line. But I don't know the answer.
posted by dseaton at 1:20 PM on November 16, 2006

do'h! "more to in" = "more to it"
posted by dseaton at 1:22 PM on November 16, 2006

This has always puzzled me, too. But I suspect there's an answer on a cutting-room floor someplace.

I wish these movies would be released with some REAL commentary...
posted by ImJustRick at 1:33 PM on November 16, 2006

As a sidenote of interest to very few people other than myself, I reckon, it says here on IMDB, that Anthony Michael Hall is credited as being "The Geek" in the VHS versions but as "Farmer Ted/The Geek" in TV versions. This leads me to believe that it was a throwaway line. It wouldn't be the only red herring/odd little inconsistency in a Hughes movie.
posted by veronica sawyer at 1:39 PM on November 16, 2006

I assumed his name was Ted Farmer. Hm.
posted by padraigin at 1:48 PM on November 16, 2006

I agree with the straightforward explanation of calling someone a farmer when one is from the affluent suburbs is a one-word way of saying, "this guy is a clueless hick".
posted by Doohickie at 2:12 PM on November 16, 2006

If you CTRL-F the script here you can find that the geek is referred to by his name "Ted" throughout the film. When Ted introduces himself as Farmer Ted to Caroline at the end of movie, it's self-deprecating. It's funny in comparison to all the earlier posturing he does, especially since he's introducing himself to the hot girl he surprisingly hooked up with the night before.

In the beginning of the movie, Molly Ringwald is insulting him by calling him "Farmer Ted." It's a unique insult, true. But sounds like a high school insult even if it's one that John Hughes made up. After all, he called Anthony Michael Hall a "NeoMaxiZoomDweebie" in another movie; that was also made up, and it just makes sense as an insult somehow.

The joke is that he's trying to correct her, but she purposely misinterprets his correction:
Sam:This is my friend, Randy.
And that's Jimmy Montrose.
geek:Howdy, dude.
Sam:This is Farmer Fred.
geek:Ted.
Sam:Oh, I'm sorry. This is Farmer Ted.
geek:I'm not really a farmer.
I'm a freshman.

The joke is that he's trying to correct her by saying his name isn't "Farmer Fred," it's just plain old "Ted." But, as a joke/insult, she "corrects" herself to call him "Farmer Ted."

That same "misinterpreting a correction" type of joke occurs earlier in the film:
Sam: Since I was about 12, I've been looking forward to my sweet 16. You know, a big party and a band, with tons of people.
Randy:And a big Trans Am in the driveway with a ribbon around it. And some incredibly gorgeous guy that you meet like in France, and you could do it on a cloud without getting pregnant or herpes.
Sam: I don't need the cloud.
Randy:Just a pink Trans Am and the guy, right?
Sam: A black one.
Randy:A black guy?
Sam:A black Trans Am, a pink guy.
[Laughing]

The only other teen movie I can think of with farmer as an insult is Clueless:
gym teacher: Tai, you don’t have time to change, but you could hit a few balls in those clothes.
Amber:She could be a farmer in those clothes.
posted by neda at 6:59 PM on November 16, 2006

I always assumed it was because of that silly shirt he was wearing, it was a pink button-down shirt and it was either short sleeved or he had the sleeves rolled up.
posted by jessamyn at 8:45 PM on November 16, 2006

I loved this movie. I have long assumed that "farmer" = "freshman" and that "Ted" was just a general insult (as in, he wasn't worth the time to learn his name).
posted by vespertine at 11:04 PM on November 16, 2006