John Hughes' finest.

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 1999)

John Hughes has been responsible for many entertaining movies but none better than this one, in my opinion. It works well as a teen comedy but there are a few curves thrown in that take it to another level.
When a group of five disparate students arrives at their high school on a Saturday morning for an all-day detention session they represent five archetypes, one of which almost any viewer can personally relate to. There's Claire (Molly Ringwald), the high school princess who can't believe she's actually to be included in this motley crew. Andrew (Emelio Estevez) is a jock who's traveling down the straight and narrow path that athletics takes him, a path prescribed by his father. Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) is one of the school's brains. His very intelligence is the thing that diminishes in the eyes of others. John Bender (Judd Nelson) comes swaggering in like the top con in the yard. This is his turf. He works hard as portraying himself as an outlaw and an outsider but he's desperate for understanding and attention just like anyone else. Finally Allison (Ally Sheedy) comes scurrying in looking like a junior bag lady-in-training. She sits in the back, hiding behind her hair, apparently terrified to speak or to be spoken to.
It promises to be a dull day but Bender will have none of that, as he seeks to make everyone as uncomfortable as possible. Over the course of the next several hours he leads the group on a series of adventures right under the nose of their principal, played by Paul Gleason in the film's only other substantial role. (One is required to suspend reality here to believe they get away with some of the stuff they do.)
The first big surprise for me came when Bender pulled out his stash of marijuana and convinces the others, after initial reluctance, to join him in smoking some. Coming as the movie did in the middle of the Reagan years, one expects the kids to just say no. It's a brave stance for the movie to take, but it's also a completely believable turn of events.
The real surprise, and the segment that makes the movie great, is when the five youngsters settle down on the floor and discuss who they are and how they came to this point. Andrew reveals he's in detention for pulling some horseplay only because he thought it was expected of him by his father. On the verge of tears he tells of the relentless pressure put on him to succeed. When he says of his dad,"God, I f*****g hate him!", the viewer is shocked, not by the language, but by the sudden seriousness the film has acquired. This leads to a series of cathartic confessions and confrontations among the group that are angry, tearful and emotionally draining, but in the end it leads to a bond between the five that just a few hours earlier they never would have expected could be forged.
This movie is best seen on cassette or on a premium channel, as the broadcast version cuts out all references to pot-smoking and also prudishly censors the dialog to a ridiculous extent. For example, "Oh my God!" is dubbed to become, "Oh my lord!" But if you're a real fan you might want to see this TV version since it contains a minute or two of action not included in the theatrical release.