The Breakfast Club was directed and written by John Hughes

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2010)

The Breakfast Club was directed and written by John Hughes. The movie is completely shot in the high school setting with five students who are facing detention. The students are Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), John Bender (Judd Nelson), Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) and Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). The other two actors portrayed in the film were Principal Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) and Carl (John Kapelos). I found the actors that John Hughes selected for this film was perfect. The location for the film was a high school and this worked great for the film. The lighting that was used throughout the movie seemed good as a school is lit well, but not too bright. The sounds reflected each scene the way it needed too. One example of that would be the scene in the basketball court. You could hear the echoes just as you would in a real basketball court. The only example movie I can think that might have some resemblance to the plot and setting would be "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".
This movie could have focused on a number of themes, but I feel that the theme that stood out was peer pressure. The movie was all about five students from different lifestyle backgrounds. There was the jock, geek, rich girl, criminal and the crazy girl. At first, you would not think this movie would be any good, but the use of the school setting created the atmosphere that we have all faced. Also, the theme was based on peer pressure that everyone goes through during their school years. The costumes all reflected each student's background and this allows the viewer to identify each character by looking at the costume alone. The movie was shot at a school and it truly brings back memories of high school as you watch them run the halls and you can see all of the doors leading to class rooms.
I found that Bender was the main character in the film because he would be the one causing the peer pressure. Bender would start the fights with not only the students, but with Principal Vernon as well. He had dark secrets about his home life and he let it control his life. Each character in the film had secrets and in the end, well you need to watch the film to see what happens.
I did feel that the film will allow any person to relate to how things were in school and the film might have been for the 80's, but it is still relevant today. The same pressure that we faced back in school still exists and this film has a great way of showing how people face it and how we can change. I found this movie to be rewarding and I was satisfied with the outcome of the film and how it kept my attention during the whole film.