Just a classic - the birth of the teen/school genre

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2020)

I always feel a little apprehensive going into older movies that are so universally loved like the very, very popular The Breakfast Club. Films of this type instill in me all manner of preconceived notions because they are so engrained in the pop culture consciousness and as a result, though I have not seen them, I feel as though I already have. Even though this movie was before my time, I felt optimistic that I would most likely enjoy it to some degree but would also somehow be unable to fully embrace it without the luxury of the added nostalgic good will that often comes from seeing these things in one's youth. It turns out that The Breakfast Club was able to transcend all of this baggage I brought with me and prove to be the real deal. I loved this film.
The dork, the jock, the rebel, the beauty queen and the eccentric artist are all forced to coexist in the same situation together, a High School weekend detention. Though these five individuals would never interact in their day to day routines, here they are forced to learn about and understand each other for the common purpose of making the best of their oppressive situation and their mutual hate of the hypocritical and authoritative Vice Principal who rules the day with an iron fist. Initially they show hostility to each other, still programed to focus on their differences, even the ways they eat lunch are vastly different, but through some well-written conversations and the more they explore each other's personal lives, the closer they come to realization that they are all the same. All of this sounds extremely clichÃ© and it's a story we have seen in many different manifestations over the years yet somehow, miraculously, everything that transpires in The Breakfast Club feels completely believable, honest and most importantly, original. It is a common phenomenon, usually seen in war situations or prison, where different walks of life are able to work together to ameliorate the time spent together. Friendships are formed hard and fast because there is really no alternative. John Hughes brilliantly applies this concept to an environment that we can all be familiar with. All of the cliques and characters' social images become irrelevant when removed from the harsh gazes of their judgmental and petty peer base. The entire cast is magnificent and I even liked the mysterious and omniscient janitor character that really has no basis for being there other than just an added bonus to appreciate.
The film ends with new relationships formed and the five come out the other side as their own new clique. One of the things I like best about The Breakfast Club in retrospect is that there was never a sequel. That would have ruined the ending. We the audience are left with the choice to wonder that, when Monday rolls around, will these 5 be walking into school together proudly hand in hand, or will they snap right back into the preassigned social niches to avoid all of the explaining that would surely need to follow. That's going to tell you about your own outlook on life how you choose to imagine it. I don't feel that this experience is going to seep into their Monday-Friday school days but I like to think that when Bender is sitting in his next two months of detention by himself, he can look forward to some visitors stopping by to keep him company, if only through a window. Or maybe Bender has always been there and always will be, a sort of grungy spirit guide, waiting to shepard each new group that filters through.