OLD SKOOL REVIEW: Breakfast Club

could you describe the ruckus?
The subject of today's review is a classic, if any film staring Emilio Estevez can be considered a classic. No, its not the cinematic masterpiece that was the Mighty Ducks (right...), it was one of Emilio's earlier works, from a simpler time when hockey was still just for canadians. While it did not spawn a disney-owned sports franchise, The Breakfast Club is a considerably better film by 1980s standards. In case you dont remember the 80s... let me elaborate on what i mean by "1980s standards." The people of the 80s elected a borderline retarded president, and then elected him again, wore mullets, and allowed "punky brewster" to be on TV. Ahh, we've come so far as a people in the last 20 years. Regardless, I cant imagine anyone paying to see this movie in this day and age. A cheesey, slow, and overly dramatic movie about high school stereotypes just wouldnt fly in this age of ADHD. I had trouble sitting through it, and if I had anything better to do, I would have done it instead of watch this. Lucky for you, i have no life. The best part was that i watched this on network TV, and they were doing those hilarious overdubbings. Hey, TV execs, we know that the word "baloney" is not mouthed the same way the word "bull****" is, and on top of that, we know what Judd Nelson sounds like. But that really has nothing to do with the movie...

Let me run down the plot. 5 kids, each one different, are stuck in saturday detention. The teacher is an ******* for no appearant reason. The janitor is some kind of wise man, but not in a funny way, just in a very 80's Mr. Miagi way (minus the ass kicking and asian-ness). The kids are all messed up in their own special way and at first dont get along, and then start getting along and by the end theyre all friends. Very meaningful dialogue about whether or not the "hot" Molly Ringwald is a virgin ensues.

First off, the premise is a load of crap. Only 5 kids in a school that looks like its built for 3,000, maybe 4,000 are in saturday school. At my school we only had 2,000 or so kids, and about 200 of them made it to saturday school on a regular basis, myself included. Heres the way detention works- the teacher doesnt leave the room, the kids arent allowed to talk, and no one gets locked in a closet, thats just ****in wierd. Its about as exciting as this movie, that is to say, not at all. While watching this I kept thinking about the show Boston Public, and how unrealistically schools are portrayed on television and in the movies. Everything's either dramaticized to death or just complete bull**** baloney.

This movie is only for the true child of the 80s. Or maybe those rare fans of the Brat Pack still out there. And while I was born in 1983, I can't say that this movie did anything for me, being only 2 years old at the time of its release. It is one of those movies that you have to see at least once in your lifetime just for the sake of being up on pop culture and privy to alot of inside jokes. If you never had the chance to experience it in the 80s though, you, like me, may never understand it's appeal. It has some good moments and classic scenes, but looking back on it, it all just seemed so forced... everything from the dialogue, to the ending, to the premise itself. I think even this kid would agree with me on that much:

-Chris
"The guy behind the guy behind the guy"

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i dissagree, the 80s rocked. at least we had presidents who were SOMEBODIES then. i mean, a former movie star and the former head of the CIA?! chances are you were being ironic on this point though [as i am]; because your bostin public comparison would seem to imply that you dont actually think popular entertainment hasn really visibly improved thematically since the end of 1989? or at least hasnt gotten any more "enlightened" [i certainly dont think it has on either count]. i dont think this movie has aged particularly poorly either. as far as super-popular "classic" 80s crud goes, you could do much worse ['purple rain' or 'top gun' would be much worse in my book].

also, emilio esteves has been in better movies. personally 'repo man' [1984] is the one that i think most qualifies [though maybe on a more "cult" level]. 'men at work' [1990] might also be decent but it's been too long since i saw it for me to really judge.

i generally agree with you that this movie is a bit skewed from reality, at least the reality of my experience of high school. i didnt necesarily disagree with the point of it, mind you. it's just that the situation that enabled some sort of meaningful discourse between these kids seemed a bit contrived and ridiculous.

this movie seems to be fairly centrist as far as high school movies go. not pure fluff like 'bring it on' or the like, but maybe a little closer to that end of the spectrum than to stuff like 'heathers', 'election', or my personal favorite, 'welcome to the dollhouse'. another interesting one [but different yet again] is 'rushmore'.

Forced? Phoney? Unrealistic? Oh yes, for sure. But i was dead pleased to realise the quote that was itching at my memory the other day.."if he stands up, we'll all stand up, it'll be anarchy!" came from this comical piece of teenage angst teasing. Silly film - but good when you're young (and have had to grow up during the eighties )

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I really hated the Breakfast club...and I did come up in the 1980's. But then, the 80's kinda sucked anyways. I admit to liking the first 3/4ths of the Breakfast Club, but OH, That ENDING.....complete and utter B.S....


(Okay, If you haven't seen this piece of crap, turn back now. I'm gonna ruin the already ruined ending...)






First, Ally Sheedy, the character I liked most, (I always thought she was somebody I would have hung out with in HS.) she gets a "Makeover" from our prissy prom queen Molly Ringwald, instantly becomes boring, and is given like a present to our @ss-Cheek taping potential date-rapist (He taped a guy's @SS shut. He's obviously capable of worse!) Emilio Estevez, who never showed any interest in her up till then.

Then, Molly Ringwald hooks up with the only other interesting character, Judd Nelson, even though that doesn't make any sense either. This ending seriously belonged to a different movie, not the one we just watched. And why didn't Anthony Michael Hall get a girl at the end? He shoulda got Ally Sheedy! That woulda made much more sense! Man, I hate John Hughes...(Except for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, National Lampoon's Vacation, and Ferris Bueller...)

And for the record, Mighty Ducks was better than this! Well not Mighty Ducks 3, though...Only like ten minutes worth of Emilio?! he was listed above the title for gawd's sake!!!

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But surely the ending actually undermines any positives laid out, as MP said. i.e. that all the kids actually end up in even more stereo-typed, superficial, non-respectful-of-difference closure-roles. Now that i remember that ending i do recall it being highly unsatisfactory (but then, i was only getting off on the cartoon rebellion-buzz anyway )

I love The Breakfast Club, and I shall always love it. And I'm a wee bit pissy at the moment, since I already typed this sh*t out only to have my computer freeze up before I could post it.

Technology is the devil. The devil!

Anyway...

I always had problems with the whole "makeover" thing, as well, but then I started thinking about it. The whole point of the movie is how these five kids change each other, in both subtle and overt ways. Whether it's a change for the better or a change for the worse, the effects are still there.

Ally's character wasn't happy the way she was--her whole image was one of aloof freakiness, as a protective cover. Letting Claire do her hair and her makeup was symbolic, partly brought on out of a sense of connection. She knew it would make Claire happy, and it did. Mission accomplished.

Plus, I seriously doubt she kept that boring-preppie look. But I do think her sensibilities about herself changed, so she probably didn't stay the same. Most likely she settled on a kind of compromise--and she's still herself. Dandruff and all.

I also take a different look at Emilio's character. Yes, he did it. But he repented, and I doubt he'd do it again. That whole "change" thing, back again.

Also, he did notice Ally's character before the ending. Remember? "What do they do to you?" He's damn near crying when she says, "They ignore me."

Oh, it makes sense to me. They were attracted to each other from the start. However, I give their relationship three weeks, tops.

Oh, hell, no. What Anthony's character needed was self-respect, and he got that at the end.

I think one of the reasons the ending is "unsatisfactory" is because of all the mitigating circumstances. They say it themselves in the movie: what happens Monday? They don't know, and we don't know. We've seen these kids thrown together without the outside world to influence them beyond their own preconcieved hang-ups--which systematically get dismantled throughout the course of the movie.

And we're worried. We don't want things to go back to the way they were, or their characters to revert to type once again. But these kids are teenagers, and we know what teenagers are like. This is only a temporary glimpse, for them, at a world without cliques and expectations--and the clique that is formed between the five of them is a tenuous thing, once they don't have the situation bonding them together.

But that's the point, I think. Nobody changes completely over the course of one Saturday, and John Hughes knows that. But now they all know something they didn't know before, about themselves and about all those kids they ignored in the halls: that whether you're the prom queen, the nerd, the freak, the hoodlum, or the athlete, things are tough all over.

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breakfeast club is a purely 80's movie. Most people think breakfest club when someone mentions the 80's. It set the standards, it was revolutionary. It did take advantage of the youth in that it took the exaggerated form of every average high school character and turned them into people who the youth and many adults could relate to. Then they had these opposit extremes in the hierarchy of coolness smoke pot and get along together like anyone who went through high school a nobody wished it could have been like. That was the appeal of the movie and the public enjoyed it, i enjoyed it, and it kicked ass.

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So is jrs really "darkgenious" from NC? hmmmm....I thought he was from Texas.

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I must have seen Breakfast Club at a perfect time in my life for it to have a lasting effect on me. It was a movie that explored the trials that teenagers go through during those four (sometimes more) years of coming to age. Freshmen are in their early stages of puberty and just a short time later are expected to be able to hold their own in the world. It can be the best and the worst times of our lives. This point in our existence is a large part of the foundation that we build our ideas and convictions upon. We make life long friends and enemies we will never forget. Emotions are bare and any negative thing that happens to us has "end of the world" all over it. I truly belive who we are and what we do in life is jump started in High School. For these and other reasons Breakfast Club will always hold a special place in my heart. I know it has some flaws and could probably have been better; but if it makes any sense, those flaws are part of what made it so great for me.

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I agree with you 100%....The Breakfast Club is one of the top pop culture films of the 1980's. Each of those 5 students brought a form of relationship I can even relate to. I had a principle like Vernon once for a short period of time in school. All I could do was make fun of him though. He didn't bother me at all.
As for the actors, their enactments towards these characters are engrossing. Estevez, Sheedy, Ringwald, Hall and Nelson just are superb at their high school antics , it makes it feel like we're all back in the saddle.....or shall I say hell for some of us.
I have watched the film so many times in my life I can like recite it. . Now after being finished with college, I'm glad that stuff is over although...in a way it makes me want to actually live it all over again.

I love The Breakfast Club, its my favorite teen film of ALL time and the best Hughes movie. Teen movies now a days really suck, there just horrible, I wish they would still make em like this.

This was on last night with all of the baloneys dubbed in and even the shot of Molly's undies cut out. It even had the AMC movie notes running throughout - Love Those!

Hadn't seen it in ages. This movie is aging well. So sums up that era. I was born in 1960 so I was able to observe the 80s with semi-grown up eyes.

Anyway, I let myself get totally caught up in everything I knew was coming and it all worked.

Flick is an 80s classic IMO.

And a lot of the dialogue is excellent.

Bender: Remember how you said your parents use you to get back at each other?
Claire Standish: [nods]
Bender: Wouldn't I be OUTSTANDING in that capacity?

This movie rocks!

It is great. Such a warm, deep thing. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.