The Breakfast Club (1985) Review

“See you next Saturday”

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When I went to high school in my teenage years, I didn’t rush to see all the movies based on said setting because I didn’t want to create expectations on what my own experience would be. However, the one film of the sub-genre that has stood the test of time for me will always be 1985’s The Breakfast Club.


PLOT


The film takes place in 3/24/1984 and follows five teens in Illinois who must go to detention on a Saturday at Shermer High School. The students each include one of a different clique: socially awkward academic Brian Johnson, varsity wrestler Andrew Clark, rebellious delinquent John Bender, popular socialite Claire Standish and withdrawn loner Alison Reynolds. Vice Principal Richard Vernon supervises them and instructs them to write an essay on the topic, ‘who you think you are’. Bender, who is there for pulling a false fire alarm, quickly gets hostile to the point where his instigation towards Vernon causes him two months worth of detention. He then shakes things up by berating Andrew's athletic prowess and rigs the main library door so the VP doesn't watch them like a hawk. After they have a bathroom break, he keeps the ball rolling in instigating Claire and Brian's sexual experiences to the point where Andrew pins him down. That doesn't stop him from judging Brian some more during lunch that he unintentionally shares past abuse from his father. Embarrassed, he tries sitting alone until he brings them along to get marijuana from his locker. Since they weren't supervised, he takes the fall to prevent Vernon from catching them all. That results in him being sent to a storage closet. The VP even takes it too far threatening to beat him up one day. When he leaves him, Bender continues defiance by sneaking back to the library through the ceiling and he almost gets caught having broken through. With Vernon not detecting him, he stays for the remainder of the day and shares his weed with the other students. As this leads to them getting along to the point of dancing, Vernon bonds with the janitor Carl who debates on how the turns will turn out by the time they graduate; Although the former thinks little of them, the latter sees their potential. Back at the library, Allison slowly opens up and confesses to being a compulsive liar and came to detention seeking companionship, having nothing better to do for Saturday. While Brian & Claire admit they're ashamed of being virgins, they had different reasons of detention. Brian admits that when he failed a project that he brought a flare gun to campus that went off in his locker, contemplating to take his life at the time. As for Claire, she admits she's there for skipping class but feels her parents use her as an excuse to get back at each other for their strained relationship. Andrew would then end up sharing he's there for bullying someone else, wanting to impress his friends and his overbearing dad. By the time Bender chooses to return to the closet, the others express other traits of themselves. Claire shows off her leadership when giving Allison a makeover to impress Andrew and Brian proves he can write eloquently when showing his essay to the others, writing on their behalf. Realizing they have so much in common, they do wonder if they'll remain with their cliques after detention and continue speaking to one another or if they’ll be like their parents. Claire even spends time with Bender in the closet before detention concludes. By the time all five part ways, the film ends with Vernon reading Brian's essay: "Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain..and an athlete..and a basket case... a princess... and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."


THOUGHTS


In the 80s, writer/director John Hughes became a name that had to be respected for the stories he told for the targeted audience of teens because each one he told set in high school, it was just clear he understood better than anyone else. We all were teens at some point in our lives and it’s crazy he was able to give something definitive. It’s been this feeling since its release because it’s been forever relatable to me. As a teen, I clicked with the endless feeling of acceptance and this movie teaches that it can happen when you look past social circles and personal backgrounds, you can get that feeling. Hell, Simple Minds’ song ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me) is immortal to me for defining how we must honor great memories of our peers by remembering them in order to how eventful life can be for better or worse. Knowing this, I was able to relate to each main character that are able to bond after making the time to look behind the curtain to get the real deal of who they were sitting across. One by one, they each had something that made them so human. Emilio Estevez had so much sincerity as Andrew because he was one who wants to mean well, but is conflicted on how he can get there and the pressure his dad put him through made him crack. He really wants to be good, but messed up on his way to get there. Anthony Michael Hall then makes Brian a standout because we relate to his shyness where even he is eager in wanting to fit in. The fact he’s pressured to be an academic breadwinner drove him nuts, thus having his breaking point that led to detention. Thankfully, he got to see there is still a gift in being a genius with the people he never expected to befriend. Ally Sheedy was the true wildcard as Allison because she uses eccentricity as her way to find her mark, feeling that is the best way to fit in until being proven otherwise. She and Andrew hit it off so fast because it was one of those opposites attract while she likes his kindness and he likes her carefree attitude. Moving on, Molly Ringwald makes an icon out of Claire because although slightly snobbish, she shares insecurity on if she can really get past the facade her parents have been hiding behind let alone wonder if she can maintain whatever happiness she already has before realizing she can make it however she wants and she does so with the the realest friends. Of course she has doubts on if it’ll last, but at the very least the newest of friends tells her to not think like that. Judd Nelson is the movie’s true icon as Bender because his rebellious nature is his shield of his vulnerability, hating the neglect he already deals with it at home. The whole time, he felt the only way to be heard was by being the bad boy and although it worked when we least expected, he does catch on he never really had to. The other students take a chance on him because he oddly inspires them that being different is good. Bender and Claire fall for each other in the end because they appreciate their respected wills at this point in their lives. Claire is drawn to Bender’s authenticity while he falls for her eagerness for change and he unintentionally paves that way. Seeing Bender raise his fist in the air, to me, represents the self control he still has despite things not always going according to plan and if we can think like him once in a while, life will be a little more tolerable for us. The one person who refuses to think like any one of these students is Vernon. Paul Gleason was on point in portraying Vernon as the most arrogant vice principal ever depicted onscreen because he refuses to think past what he thinks he knows of the students especially Bender. He’d rather be a dictator instead of give guidance to any one of them. Although I appreciate John Kapelos being the most sympathetic of characters here as Carl, I hope the letter really opens his mindset the way Brian intends. I also hope all five of those teens keep in touch as they get older because it’s important to appreciate those that change our lives for the better. I’m always gonna hold this film dearly, but there are still a few things that I scratch my head about after all the times I’ve rewatched it. Like for starters, I know the plot doesn’t really happen if Vernon isn’t in his office most of the time and it’s believable he doesn’t want to be there, but if he knows how chaotic Bender is, he’d stay in the library with the students to avoid the rest of the hijinks from happening. It was even too easy for him to give up on the door being closed when he could’ve opened the other. He doesn’t even hear Bender’s outburst before falling from the ceiling. I’m sure he wants to enjoy his lunch too, but his lack of suspicion is ridiculous. I even have a hard time buying him not hearing the students walking a hallway away from him before they make a run for it and Bender takes the fall. And he doesn’t even double check the closet ever to be sure Bender wouldn’t leave which he predictably does. Lastly, I’m quite surprised he doesn’t even hear the glass break due to Andrew getting so high he screams his lungs off. Other than that, The Breakfast Club will remain as the ideal high school for every generation before & after for its immortal relatability to American teens, paving the way for embracing self acceptance in more ways than one. If you want an idea of what growing up is gonna be like, see this now