The film The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes is one of the best 80s movies I have ever seen.

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2013)

The film The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes is one of the best 80s movies I have ever seen, with the exception of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The character and story development was superbly done without sacrificing the pace of the film. The film was centered on a coming of age theme where the young characters become more mature and discover how their actions affect other while trying to break away from the stereotypes that have been placed on them by their peers.
The movie centered on the development of five main characters, with each having a different stereotype applied to them, while spending Saturday detection with one another. Emilio Estevez was the "athlete" Andrew Clark, Anthony Michael Hall was the "brain" Brian Johnson, Judd Nelson was the "criminal" John Bender, Molly Ringwald was the "princess" Claire Standish, and Ally Sheedy was the "basket case" Allison Reynolds. When the movie starts each of these characters is introduced with these stereotypes and at first they defend these roles that society has determined that they fit into.
John the criminal is the main catalyst in the movie for the other characters to start to examine their roles in life and how following these roles effects themselves and others. He acts out and forces the others into conversations and taking action, when they would have just kept to themselves for the entire detention. John forces the characters to rethink the way they act and the reasons for their actions. I love how this mechanic is used to develop the characters in the story.
Each character finds that what that the roles they have taken where a result of their parents, and other peers pressure placed upon them and that they are deeply unhappy with their lives. The criminal John finds that he does not happy with hiding his emotions through violence and vandalism and emotionally opens up through the film. Clair the princess comes to the realization that she is not happy with being forced into such a culturally restive life and wants to be a more carefree person. Ally the basket case is tired of being rejected and ignored by her parents and fellow students and learns that she can still have meaningful social relationships with others. Andrew the athlete learns that it is OK to be weak and Brian the brain learns that he does not have to be academically perfect. In the end each of these characters becomes more emotionally mature fitting in with the theme of the movie.
However, the best part of the movie for me was that the ending was open to the viewers. Each of the characters went their separate ways after the detention, leaving with the thoughts of Clair's statement that when they get back to school peer pressure will force them back into their roles and they will all cease to be friends. This makes the viewer determine if the he or she think that the characters have become mature enough to overcome this flaw.