The Breakfast Club (1985)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John Hughes

Writer:

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

15 February 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.

Plot:

Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.

Plot Keywords:

Detention | Principal | Jock | High School | Marijuana

Cast

Emilio Estevez	...	Andrew Clark
Paul Gleason	...	Richard Vernon
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Brian Johnson
John Kapelos	...	Carl
Judd Nelson	...	John Bender
Molly Ringwald	...	Claire Standish
Ally Sheedy	...	Allison Reynolds
Perry Crawford	...	Allison's Father
Mary Christian	...	Brian's Sister
Ron Dean	...	Andy's Father
Tim Gamble	...	Claire's Father
Fran Gargano	...	Allison's Mom
Mercedes Hall	...	Brian's Mom

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Brazil:Livre (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-14 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (Certificate No. 27628) | West Germany:12 | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

A&M Films

Trivia:

While eating lunch, Andrew (Emilio Estevez) takes his lunch out of a "Happy Foods" paper grocery bag. Happy Foods is an actual grocery store in the north/northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The film takes place in Chicago, but as they go through the school, you see the flag of the state of Georgia.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Andrew Clark: So... what's your poison?
[no answer]
Andrew Clark: ...Ok, forget I asked.
Allison Reynolds: Vodka.
Andrew Clark: Vodka? When do you drink vodka.
Allison Reynolds: Whenever.
Andrew Clark: How much?
Allison Reynolds: Tons.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in In the Land of Women (2007)

Soundtrack:

Fire In The Twilight

The cream of the crop in 80's fare.

This movie is one of the best, if not THE best, 80's film there is. The fact is, every teen character in this movie can be related to someone we knew in high-school. As a child of the 80's, I can honestly say that this is a representative cross-section of every high school in North America. The geek, the jock, the outcast, the rich pretty-girl snob, and the future criminal. They all exist, to some degree or another, in the classrooms of every high school on the continent.

What makes this film rise above the rest is the character development. Every character in this film is three-dimensional. They all change, in one way or another, by the end of the film. Whether or not things remain the way they are long after this film ends is unknown, and that adds to the rama. The most important scene in this film is when the characters, as a group, all open up to one-another and describe the hell that their daily school routines are in a personal fashion. Nobody likes the role they must inevitably portray in the high-school scene, but the fact is, it is often inescapable. This film gives the viewer some insight into how the other people around them might have felt during that particular time in their lives.

Each of the main characters in this film shines, but Judd Nelson (John Bender) and Emilio Estevez (Andrew Clark) rise above the rest. Simply put, these two actors each put their heart and soul into their respective characters, and it shows.

At the end of the film, the viewer is left to make their own conclusions as to how things will carry forth. And I'm sure that most people will do that. This is one movie that left me feeling both happy and sad for each of the characters, and it isn't easy to make me care about a film in that way. Even if you aren't a fan of the 80's genre, this isn't one you would want to miss.

My Rating: 10/10