Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
Emilio Estevez
Andrew Clark
Judd Nelson
John Bender
Molly Ringwald
Claire Standish
Anthony Michael Hall
Brian Johnson
Ally Sheedy
Allison Reynolds
Paul Gleason
Richard Vernon
John Kapelos
Carl
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
John Hughes
Brian’s Father (uncredited)
Director, Writer
John Hughes
June 30, 2020
6
Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/tCnm1BN1iAs
The brain, the athlete, the princess, the basket case, and the criminal - yes we’re talking about _The Breakfast Club_. It’s been dubbed as a seminal film of the 1980s and takes a place as an intergenerational classic.
_They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library. At 7.00am they had nothing to say, but by 4.00pm they had bared their souls to each other and become The Breakfast Club._
Directed by John Hughes and starring Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Ally Sheedy it rightly deserves that spot as a revered movie. It's very much a comedy-drama and is surprisingly deep in parts, like the scene toward the end where they are all explaining what they did to get the detention. The acting is brilliant, and even though there is a very small cast, its basically the five members of The Breakfast Club and the Vice Principal, they hold your attention because they are so good.
What I particularly liked was how they took the standard college stereotypes and then slowly deconstructed them over the course of the movie, and showed that they actually all had a lot in common. They all had their loves and hates, their sensitivities, and the burden of expectation from their parents, the school, and society as a whole.
It's funny, it's sad, and by the time it concludes, it's quite uplifting, and if it's been a while since you saw it, it might be time to load it up for another look. If you've never seen it, then I suggest you check it out for a great time capsule of a movie that has themes that still resonate today.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$1,000,000.00
Revenue:
$51,525,171.00