The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Planes, Trains & Automobiles), broke the monotony of the empty teenage "cheese" being cranked out at the time of its release. With Breakfast Club, Hughes explores what it takes to survive the social "rat race" also known as "high school." When this film was released in 1985, he managed to not only get the kids' attention, but dug deep into their emotions of how much it could suck growing up in the cutthroat "big '80s."
Hughes sets a simple plot of five kids hangin' out in their high school library for an uneventful day of Saturday detention. Each of these five teens represents to the 'T' each tier of the high school social hierarchy: the punk, the prom queen, the jock, the brain and, of course, the basket case. Throughout the day in detention the group engages in various activities such as pissing off the egotistical principal Vernon (played by Paul Gleason) and bitching about all the other places that they would rather be. But to their surprise, they end up learning more about themselves than they ever could have imagined.
In this flick, the hormonally challenged "Brat Pack" is at their finest. Judd Nelson, who plays the punk-ass John Bender, is the highlight of the film. He plays psychological warfare with everyone who crosses his path, making them feel like an incompetent "peon" within two minutes of a conversation. With classic lines such as "Eat my shorts" (before Bart Simpson made it cool), and his rendition of Led Zeppelin on air guitar, Bender proves to be the cast's most unforgettable character.
The poster girl of the Brat Pack, Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink), stars as Claire. She's your typical wealthy prom queen from a broken home, who after enough harassment from Bender confesses her hate for being popular and all of the pressures that come along with it. Playing her polar opposite is the talented Ally Sheedy as Allison, the basket case of the bunch who claims to be in detention because she simply "had nothing better to do."
Andy, played by Emilio Estevez, is the stereotypical high school jock who most likely sleeps in his letter jacket. The geek of the bunch, Brian, is well played by the socially inept Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen Candles). He's the guy who brings his peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off and has a fake ID ... so he can "vote of course."
Hughes' seemingly simplistic approach, such as the frequent use of dead time (in order to focus more on the dialogue), has resulted in many critics claiming that The Breakfast Club lacks substance and that the plot is too dry to be considered a credible film. Maybe that's because most of those critics are "old farts" and forget what an ongoing battle it is to actually survive those vulnerable years. Some people state that the characters' problems seem lame, but if we can all reflect back to our years of teen angst, those problems seemed earth shattering at the time.
There is something about this film that seems to hit a soft spot. Maybe it's that each one of us deep down inside has always wanted to be the "prep" falling for the "punk," or the nerd who finds himself ... or maybe it's just that fact we can relate to it oh too well. On the soundtrack, songs from artists such as Simple Minds and Wang Chung help make this film the unforgettable piece of '80s pop culture that it is.
Truly a "College Classic," The Breakfast Club was the voice of a generation driven by big money, big hair and big egos all asking themselves (in the words of Brian) "Who Am I?"
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Although the only intoxication going on is the guys getting "stoked," it gives you all the more reason to knock a few back and practice your air guitar.
Romances that flourish at the end are so unlikely that it might make you actually think that you may have a chance with the person sitting next to you.
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