I still remember the first time I saw it. I was in my pre-teens, and it seemed like everyone was talking about it. This cool, hip movie that seemed to capture the essence of high school. Though I wasn't yet in high school myself, and I saw the movie on VHS, I knew I was watching something insightful. When I first saw The Breakfast Club, I knew that somehow, someone seemed to capture cliques, and stereotypes, and the surface and substance of image versus actuality of high schoolers throughout America.

Now, having seen The Breakfast Club countless times, having been out of high school in excess of 14 years, its resonance is even more pure and powerful than I first realized as a wistful junior high girl.

The Breakfast Club, a film written and directed by John Hughes, takes place on a Saturday in a high school library. An unlikely group has gathered together for the day, to serve their detention. The group, though seemingly cohesive in its purpose, is apparently disparate when one looks at the individuals that comprise it. There is the "princess," Claire, played by Molly Ringwald. She is the individual who is always at the hottest parties, is in the coolest clothes, and gets anything that money can buy.

Then, there's the "athlete." The athlete, Andy, is played by Emilio Esteves. Andy is the quintessential jock, focused on the big win, and who runs with the in crowd due to his inherent popularity based on his physical prowess. Next, there's the "brain." The nerd, Brian, is portrayed by Anthony Michael Hall. Brian appears to be one, if not several steps behind the popular kids when it comes to coolness. Brian, a true nerd to the core, doesn't seem to care about what's fashionable or in. He cares about whether or not he gets an A on the next assignment, where he'll get into college, and what his future will be.

Ally Sheedy plays Allison, the basket case. She's the one who's isolated, always lurking in the corners. Her behavior, erratic at best, sometimes quiet, sometimes intense. She dances to the beat of her own drummer. The group is then rounded out by John, the criminal played by Judd Nelson. If Claire is born with the silver spoon in her mouth, he was born with a figurative axe in his. He's all rough edges, and he thumbs his nose at authority.

These are the basics of the unlikely members of the Breakfast Club, on the surface. However, as the day unfolds, and the viewer watches and learns about each of these students, it is like watching layers of an onion get pealed away. One learns why they're there, and what can make them unravel. John Hughes proves how adept he is at depicting the high school psyche, through these representative though extreme versions of each type of person or clique in school. The viewer is left with the following questions:

Is one who is pampered and privileged at any more advantage psychologically than one who answers to no one?

Can someone who is so bright, be their own worst enemy?

Can strength, if exhibited only through coercion by an elder, actually be a weakness?

Is it possible for someone who breaks all the rules, and shows no bound, to have tenderness?

Is being ignored the worst torment of all?

Hughes asks these questions, and shows how each of these individuals may appear to fit a mold, but can in essence be interchangeable. He does this through humor (i.e., the scenes with Paul Gleason as the Principal), and intensity. There is a particular scene where the characters are discussing what got them into detention. It's beauty is its rawness. Show me a person who cannot identify with at least one of those characters, and you've shown me someone who never truly lived the high school experience.

Each actor in The Breakfast Club was so remarkably believable, that I find it impossible to single out any one performance. I am left wondering if they were all that great, or was it simply the material and direction and they were like clay to be molded.

There were many inconsequential movies made in the 1980's. When I watch some of them, I sometimes laugh at the outdated clothes, hair, music, etc. Sometimes even the story line and words seem out of date. Unlike those movies, The Breakfast Club is timeless. Every generation in high school has cliques. Every high schooler has torment, it is only a question of what form the torment takes. There is the undying need to feel accepted by ones peers. There is the need to rebel. There is the torment to get ahead and to achieve.

To me, the beauty of The Breakfast Club is in watching it unfold, and realizing that if these fictional characters were created and can "think" like they do, it shows that everyone seems to contend with comparable high school angst. It also shows that as we go through those pivotal high school years, no longer a child, but not quite ready for adulthood, we are in essence all the same. We fall into a pattern or cookie-cutter image that most easily fits us, but with different circumstances, we could easily be the criminal instead of the princess, the basket case instead of the brain. I believe it really is an excellent film.

When The Breakfast Club ends, with the end of the detention, I feel exhausted from delving into a day in the life of these characters. Though I know they're fictional, I realize that I know them. I know them in the peers I had in high school. I know them in the people who grew up into the adults they are today. But, most importantly, I know them in myself.





Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age