My God, are we gonna be like our parents?

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2012)

"My God, are we gonna be like our parents?"...It's the one question that every teenager asks themselves. In John Hughes 1985 drama, The Breakfast Club, five high school students meet in Saturday detention. The brainy Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), the princess, Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), the criminal, John Bender (Judd Nelson), the athlete, Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), and Allison Reynolds, the basket case (Ally Sheedy). From seven in the morning to four in the afternoon the teenagers delve into their problems at home and prove that they're bigger than their respective stereotypes, while trying to evade their villainous principal, Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason).
At the beginning of the movie Andrew and John immediately go at it after John mocks him and Brian, and sexually harasses Claire. Gradually the group begins to open up to each other, revealing that they all have unpleasant relationships with their parents. Andrew's father wants him to be a winner, and won't take anything less. Claire's parents use her to get back at one another, while Allison's parents ignore her. John's life at home is full of violence and rage. Brian is seen as the "perfect kid", but he is under intense pressure to keep his grades up. The teenagers are then shown together, dancing all over the library, their stereotypes no longer holding them back from one another.
The movie has amazing dialog that plays a large part in setting up the characters and gives the movie verisimilitude. Claire (Ringwald) tells Vernon (Gleason) at the beginning of the movie "Excuse me sir, I think there's been a mistake. I know it's detention, but I don't think I belong in here." This simple line has a subtle snobby air about it, with a slight hint that she thinks she's better than the people she's with, that the audience can relate to hearing with the own popular kids in their school. When Vernon asks if the kids care to return to detention Brian (Hall) stands up and says "Uh, you know I can answer that now sir. That'd be a no, no for me." Being the nerd, this line makes it look like Brian is trying to get on Vernon's good side, which is stereotypical of the "nerd" type, always being the teachers favorite. Bender's (Nelson) dialog in the movie is constantly sarcastic and mocking, which makes the audience believe that he really is the one kid that doesn't care about school and is always getting into some sort of trouble. An example of this is when he asks Vernon "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?" This quote makes people think back to the "dropout" or "burner" they knew in high school, the one who was always getting into some sort of trouble. The same type of verisimilitude is given off when Andrew, the jock (Estevez), tells Brian "You ask me one more question and I'm beating the sh*t out of you." This line shows the typical jock, the one that uses his fists to settle things and scare people. Another wonderful aspect of the movie is the costume design for the characters.
The costume design seems to fit perfectly to the type of stereotype each of the actors is playing. Allison (Sheedy), the basket case, is wearing something that looks like "bag lady clothes". She has on really baggy clothes that are dark colors. Her hair is slightly disheveled and she has very dark eyeliner. Her clothes make her blend into the background, which adds to her being a sort of recluse. Claire looks like the standard rich prep, with an expensive leather jacket and diamond earrings. Her makeup is light and pretty and she has a sort of innocent look about her. She looks very put together with a skirt and a light pink shirt paired with boots. The audience can tell that she definitely comes from a family that has money. Bender, the criminal, has a grungy look to him. He has an overcoat, leather biker gloves, with black combat boots that have bandannas tied around them. He has a jean jacket over a half unbuttoned plaid shirt. His hair is long and carefree. He looks like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. Brian looks like a typical nerd. He has a respectable haircut with khakis and a green sweater. He has an air of innocence while you know that he's the one sitting in the front of the class hanging onto the teacher's every word. The jock, Andrew, comes in with his wrestling letterman jacket on, displaying loudly and proudly that he is an athlete. Under that he just wears jeans with a muscle shirt, showing off his toned biceps. All of the costumes pull together, yet while being completely different at the same time.
Overall, this film is one of my favorite films of all time, and was an instant hit with me. I loved the witty dialog, the characters, the setting, everything. The one aspect that really stuck with me was how I could completely relate to almost every character in the film, knowing at least one person who acted in the exact same manner. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who is in high school, or who has ever been in high school. On my list, The Breakfast Club will always be a 10 out of 10.