The 1980's were a glorious time for director John Hughes. Known as the King of Teen Movies, Hughes remains known for his direction on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and Weird Science, as well as writing movies like Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, Mr. Mom, 101 Dalmatians, and Beethoven. He featured a wide array of new actors, who have almost all grown up to be major success stories. These actors include Mathew Broderick and Michael Keaton, as well as what film historians have deemed "The Brat Pack"- a group of young actors in the 1980's who frequently starred together in movies.
The Breakfast Club is one of the more subtle Hughes/"Brat Pack" collaborations, but manages a more surprising gut-punch than most of others. Rated"R" for language and extreme sexual innuendos, it's clear from the rating alone that this one is not just for kids. And the further into the plot it gets, the more heartbreaking and emotional the characters become.
The basic premise of the movie is that five students go to Saturday Detention for various reasons. They are there in the school library from 9-4, and as the tagline of the movie says, "They only met once, but it changed their lives forever." Initially, as they are all from different social groups, the teens do not interact. But "The Criminal" John Bender fights with and talks back to the adult in charge, Assistant Principal Richard Vernon. Vernon is abusive and cruel towards Bender, but because of their respect of authority, the other four students at first see Bender as the nuisance. Bender eventually breaks the library doors so that Vernon cannot see them from his office, so the students begin to relax and move around. Various misadventures and revealing conversations later, and the students have formed an irrevocable bond. Ultimately, it all boils down to the sins of the father: all five students realize that they despise their parents and everything they stand for.
Characters play a major role in The Breakfast Club. With it's themes of breaking stereotypes, learning about others before judging them, and dealing with parents, the movie would not nearly be as successful without fully developing all of it's central leads. And developed they are. Each character represents a high school social clique. Emilio Estevez plays Andy (The Jock), Molly Ringwald plays Claire (The Princess), Judd Nelson plays John Bender (The Criminal), Ally Sheedy plays Allison (The Basket Case), and Anthony Michael Hall plays Brian (The Nerd).
The actors all delve completely into their characters; all five dress, act, and talk like their respective stereotypes do. Hughes proves his mastery by doing this, because from the get-go, we immediately begin to judge all five characters like we would in real life. Andy wears a sports jacket, Claire constantly puts makeup on, Bender disrespects adults and others, Allison remains anti-social and "kooky" throughout, and Brian tries to act cool but ultimately fails to impress.
The upper-library circle scene is one of the most fascinating yet devastating conversations ever captured on film. As each character talks about out the truth of their existence, the audience begins to realize the harsh realities of life, symbolized in each of the character's individual struggles. But in a way, all five are exactly the same: they all struggle with depression, experience pressure from their friends, and deal with troubles at home. The worst part, as Claire shamefully admits, is that when Monday comes, they likely will never talk to each other again, bound by "rules" of social life in high school. A Princess must never be seen with a Nerd, and the Jock must never date a Basket Case. Even though they have revealed their true identities to each other, they may never speak again. It's almost impossible not to shed a tear during this heartbreaking conversation.
On a lighter note, The Breakfast Club is also categorized as a comedy, and there are indeed scenes of pure hilarity. Allison makes a sandwich by mixing bread, Pixie Sticks, and Captain Crunch, and the dance montage is a ton of fun. The stereotypical actions of the characters is also funny, as they are so extreme at times that viewers cannot help but chuckle. The movie was also filmed at the same high school as Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off, so there are brief crossover moments like a "Save Ferris" poster and a similar hallway design.
Everybody can find a part of themselves in one or all of the students, as we all have had high school experiences that mirror our current realities. Everyone has stories of fighting with their parents and making preemptive judgements about others. It's just as likely that we each belonged to our own social cliques at some point. The Breakfast Club is trying to prove this point to both teens and adults, by making it all seem so foolish yet serious so that we want to learn along with the characters. This movie should be required viewing for all high school students, to learn about the serious consequences of social cliques and the effects of pressure.
And of course, we can't finish off any discussion of The Breakfast Club without mentioning that little Simple Minds song. So, like the movie it's featured in, "Don't You, Forget About Me".
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