Director John Hughes was known for directing many coming-of-age films in the 1980s. Starting as an author for the National Lampoon magazine in the 1970s, he moved into film in the 1980s. In 1984, the first movie he directed, Sixteen Candles was released. The following year in 1985, his second movie, The Breakfast Club, was released. Hughes was inspired by one of his friends having a detention class back in high school called ‘The Breakfast Club’. The story of five teens who each represent a different clique and stereotype in high school who serve detention with their cruel vice principal. Like Hughes’s other movies, this was shot in Illinois.
The Breakfast Club stars Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Paul Gleason. The film has the classic 1980s tropes coming of age films in that decade usually had. It had an iconic soundtrack, including the song Don’t You (Forget About Me). It takes place in a high school. The humor is pure 1980s humor that is still funny today. It starred actors in the ‘Brat Pack’, a group of actors in the 1980s who were in their twenties and appeared in coming-of-age movies. That’s just a small fraction of what makes The Breakfast Club special.
What makes The Breakfast Club iconic are the characters. Each actor is perfectly cast in their roles. Paul Gleason plays Vice Principal Richard Vernon, who is super strict and tough on the kids, particularly John Bender, played by Judd Nelson. Vernon is portrayed as a jerk who at one point in the film threatens to fight Bender and even locks him in a closet as punishment. Vernon believes the kids get worse each year but the janitor believes Vernon has changed instead. A lesson can be learned from this character, which is not to treat others, especially kids, horribly.
Nelson’s character John Bender is the criminal of the group and the main character. Nelson portrays this character perfectly. He comes across as disrespectful and harassing the other students. He is more antagonistic to Andrew and Claire. Throughout the movie, it’s discovered Bender lives in an abusive household where his dad treats him and his mom horribly. For Bender, Saturday detention seems like an escape from all of that. Between the stories Bender shares and his facial reaction to Vernon threatening him, we learn why this character behaves the way he does. He bonds with the group, realizes Andrew’s dad is similar to his dad, and shares a kiss with Claire at the end.
Andrew Clark is played by Emilio Estevez and is the jock. Andrew is a star athlete who argues a lot with Bender and is always coming to the defense of the other students when Bender harasses them, particularly Claire. It’s revealed that he doesn’t think for himself and is in detention for taping a kid’s buns together to try and impress his father and teammates. Andrew feels remorse for his actions and hates his father, who puts too much pressure on Andrew to always be a winner. Claire Standish is the princess played by Molly Ringwald. Out of everyone, she cares the most about her popularity and gives in to peer pressure. Her parents use her when they argue with each other.
Brian Johnson is the brains of the group, played by Anthony Michael Hall. He feels a lot of pressure from his parents to succeed in school. Usually the shy, calm one for most of the movie, he tearfully reveals later on that he contemplated suicide after getting an F in one of his classes and is in detention for bringing a flare gun to school. Allison Reynolds is a basket case played by Ally Sheedy who at first is the quiet member but becomes more vocal and open as the film progresses. She didn’t even get detention and went just to go.
These characters realize they are more alike than they assume. The great balance of humor and drama works so well in this movie. The first half feels more humor-driven whereas the second half is more serious, with the characters bonding over their issues with their parents and social status in school. Each reason the teens got detention feels unique and talks a lot about them and the pressures they feel, whether it’s their parents or peers. These concerns and problems are realistic and anyone can relate to them. The Breakfast Club takes place in 1984, but these issues the teenagers go through are still common today. We still have our jocks, popular kids, and smart kids. Unfortunately, we also have adults like Vernon in our society who treat their students horribly and parents who put unnecessary pressure on our kids and even abuse them. The Breakfast Club remains one of the most relatable movies to ever come out and one of the best coming-of-age stories of all time.
Overall, if you have not seen The Breakfast Club, I highly recommend it. My final grade for The Breakfast Club is an A+. It’s an entertaining character study of how some high school stereotypes are not true. What are your thoughts on The Breakfast Club? Let us know in the comments below.
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