It’s hard to believe that The Breakfast Club is 17 years old. Much like my Duran Duran reviews, I spent a considerable amount of time on the calculator doing the math. 2002 minus 1985 still comes out to 17, no matter how many times you do it. Maybe it’s the simple fact that films like Breakfast Club don’t roll around that often. American Pie is destined to have the same allure 10 years from now, but it will always take a backseat to Breakfast Club when the subject of teen oriented films arises. On the lighter side, Sixteen Candles takes a lighter look at the suburbs through the eyes of an innocent girl with a forgetful family unit. While both have different plots they are a refreshing look at life from the other side of the tracks – at least for me they are.

What’s Old, Eventually Becomes New

The co-pack marketing idea isn’t new. How many times have you seen trial sized items cleverly attached to products at the grocery store or promotions where you get a discount on additional purchases after you pay full price for one item? These films were simply shrink-wrapped together, an eye-catching sticker applied to the front and sent out to the masses seeking cheap thrills at movie retail stores. I first came across this at Suncoast and thought well isn’t this cute. I was entertaining the idea of purchasing Sixteen Candles[thanks to an obsession with Michael Schoeffling] and when I saw I could pick up both of these for $14.99 - it was a done deal before I could even think twice.

The Breakfast Club

1984 was the beginning of the Brat Pack’s climb to glory but 1985 was the year they reached their peak. With the release of St. Elmo’s Fire and Breakfast Club hitting theaters in the same year, the names of Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson cemented their images into fans minds and became household names across the world. Their careers before 1985 were mediocre at best, but with the hand crafted and creative kiss of directors Joel Schumacher and John Hughes [respectively] they were launched into the media spotlight without protective equipment. The declining years proved that the saying ‘only the strong survive’ was more than just a bumper sticker phrase – it was the god’s honest truth. From the original brat pack only a few made it in the big leagues, but thanks to creatively marketed products like this co-pack – another generation has the chance to experience a creative, enchanting and entertaining film

The Breakfast Club was something that 99% of teenagers could identify with. You found yourself bonding with one of the characters at the beginning of the film based on their appearance, actions, associations and crime. By the end of the film, when you get to see their true faces, you identified with a different character. Jocks, geeks, princesses, rebels and social misfits all found a common ground with these 5 teenagers in suburbia – kids going through the same troubles with their parents or peer pressure found a bit of a safe haven within the confines of the video. Even with the passing of 17 years since the film was released, teens are still facing the same issues as those featured in the film, albeit accelerated by drugs, gang violence and teen pregnancy.

A story is only as strong as it’s weakest link and in the case of The Breakfast Club I can only find a few and those are mostly for personal reasons involving obvious technical flaws and bloopers that should have never happened. The characters are strong, well defined and unique but no so much so that they seem contrived. The teens are well represented and offer everyone the chance to side with one or two of them and cheer them on.

The Cast

The box office and subsequent video rental tallies are only matched by the star power of the film. Considering that many of the now power players lost their big screen cherry* to this film, it’s nice to be able to look back on them and see their reckless and somewhat innocent side.

Andrew Clark
Emilio Estevez
[Mighty Ducks, Young Guns, Repo Man]

Estevez played the part of the jock with an attitude who realizes that wining isn’t everything. Placing himself higher than everyone else at detention, he sees that his life isn’t so bad when honestly compared to others. Desperately wanting to break the rules set forth by his peers, he talks a walk on the wild side with Bender and company and learns some things about his new friends, but even more about himself.

John Bender
Judd Nelson
[St. Elmo’s Fire, Airheads, New Jack City]

Every school has one – the kid that everyone talks about and fears – yet no one seems to know a thing about him. Nelson looked the part from the get go and put the icing on the cake with his gestures, hair flips and mannerisms. Nelson risked getting type cast to the bruiser / thug role but managed to escape that pitfall with the release of St. Elmo’s Fire later in 1985. John Bender may have given the first impression of being a burn out but as the story progresses you understand more and more about him, his family and his general attitude towards life.

Brian Johnson
Anthony Michael Hall
[Sixteen Candles, Edwards Scissorhands]

Slightly skinny and lacking a pocket protector, Brain’s character would have never made it on the screen today. Issued detention for bringing a gun [a flare gun] to school as well as his pent up rage would have hit too close to home for most viewers. Brain is the kid that got sand kicked in his face by the jock at the beach. Taking the verbal abuse from parents, peers and teachers – combined with the events of the Saturday morning detention lead to his emotional enema onscreen. Additionally, Mercedes Hall can be seen in the film playing Brian’s mother [the car scene].

Allison Reynolds
Ally Sheedy
[High Art, Maid To Order, War Games]

Quiet kleptomaniacs who voluntarily show up for detention aren’t run of the mill characters you come across often. Closely related to the Bender character, Allison is misunderstood and never given a chance by the ‘pretty people’ at the school. With a love of Pixie Stix and Pepsi, she started a trend and revolutionized school lunches for at least one semester – and lets face it – it was better than Claire’s sushi. Sheedy remained quiet through the first part of the film but pulled it off with facial expressions and body language.

Claire Standish
Molly Ringwald
[Fresh Horses, For Keeps, Tempest]

Bender: Claire?
Claire: Yeah, Claire
Bender: Claire’s a fat girls name.
Claire: I’m not fat.

From the first moments of the film, you know that eventually the two characters of Bender and Claire will ‘hook up’. Come on, he’s from the wrong side of the tracks and she has her own sushi lunch kit – if that doesn’t have “Kodak Moment” written all over – I don’t know what does. Ringwald

The Bottom Line

This movie is simply a classic – give it 8 more years before it officially qualifies to be called so by critics but the freak gives it two thumbs up. Fans of Weird Science, Can’t Hardly Wait, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty In Pink will more than likely find The Breakfast Club an enjoyable view. Available in PG-13 [television edit] or full length theatric R rated versions from video stores everywhere.




Sixteen Candles

On the verge of her 16th birthday, Samantha Baker finds herself embroiled in her sisters wedding, head over heals for a jock and trying to deal with the fact that her entire family forgot her birthday. Sixteen Candles, released in 1984 is a star filled film – before they were stars. Don’t believe me? John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Gedde Watanabe [motion picture debut], Brian Doyle-Murray, Michael Schoeffling [motion picture debut] and Jami Gertz are just a few of the now famous folks that grace the cast listing.

The relationship between Samantha and Jake evolves though chance meetings, a party, a high school dance and a pair of underwear. Trust me, you have to see this film to get the complete meaning of that statement. While the main theme of the film revolves around the wedding and the crush, there are nice little extras such as Long Duk Dong, Ted ending up with the prom queen and the whacked out grandparents. Even with all the subplots, the film isn’t brain surgery – you sit down, press play and enjoy.

The Cast

Ted Myers The King of The Geeks
Anthony Michael Hall
[Pirates of Silicon Valley, Texas, Exit In Red]

Farmer Ted, as he is so aptly nicknamed by Ringwald’s character, doesn’t have a bad life, but it could certainly be better. He’s fallen hard for Samantha but her eyes are set firmly on Jake. Playing the part of the cool geek, he inadvertently plays matchmaker between Sam and Jake trying to score points with both of them. Anthony Michael Hall did a great job with this character – right down to the breath mints in his pocket. He might not make your heart do flip flops, but he sure is a handy guy to know. One of the best scenes is when he’s trapped under the large glass coffee table at the party – geek under glass – how quaint

Jake Ryan
Michael Schoeffling
[Mermaids, Vision Quest, Slaves of New York]

The jock with a soft spot. Having money, looks and the prom queen just doesn’t cut it for Jake. His girlfriend thinks of him as a prize and wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Ryan with a nice fat bank account. I have a huge soft spot for Mr. Schoeffling and seeing as this is his first major motion picture – I am wondering why it took me so long to pick this up. Jake more than proves that there are still princes out there – willing to go so far as to save a woman virtue as well as return her underwear. Ladies beware, he has a killer smile :]

Samantha Baker
Molly Ringwald
[Betsy’s Wedding, Pick Up Artist, Pretty In Pink]

Faced with a house full of weird relatives, Samantha faces the fact that her family is just too wedding obsessed to celebrate her milestone – her 16th birthday. Samantha is in the middle of the food chain at her school – cool enough to be popular but not in the elite league of the jocks and cheerleaders. Her position leaves her looking through the window at Jake while dodging advances from freshmen. A tad bit whiney, Ringwald pulls off the teenage act with a nice flair. This was a great primer for future roles, but even I have a hard time getting the image of her sitting on the large glass table sharing a birthday cake with Jake out of my mind.

The Bottom Line

Aside from the huge number of stars in this film, there is an actual plot. The jumps from comedy to slight drama give it a little more meat but don’t drag it out to erroneous lengths. Fans of teen flicks such as American Pie, Dazed And Confused and Say Anything would find Sixteen Candles a most enjoyable view.


Star Crossed

The two films showcased in this co-pack have come common talent – sure fodder for those that love trivia. Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and John Kapelos all star in both films.

Honestly, This Is The Bottom Line

If you find yourself looking for two true comedies from the 80’s – this is the perfect thing to look for. Both films are ones that you can watch over and over without having to hunt high and low for the remote control. This is also a great way to see the stars before they were stars … and before their stars faded into the midnight skies. The ratings for these are pretty harsh and when compared to today’s films, they are extremely tame. If you are still stuck on this issue, The Breakfast Club can be specially ordered under the PG-13 format or you can check your local television listing for times when it is run [usually weekend afternoons].



* big screen cherry - A term, self-created, to define when an actor or actress officially crossed over into the world of film. While they may have had roles in previous films, they lost their ‘big screen cherry’ when they were recognized as actors by the media rather than bit part players or “teens with dreams”.



As always, thanks for the read :]

^V^ Freak ^V^




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older