Ultimate Teenager Flick?

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2010)

A group of kids are sent to detention on a Saturday for various reasons. They are all different, from the nerd, the jock, the rebel, the princess and the weirdo. These kids manage to find out things about each other and themselves while serving detention.
Even though I was born in 1987, two years after the film was released, I can relate to it. That's what makes The Breakfast Club so damn good, kids generations later can still relate to the characters and their problems. John Hughes is the one person in the film industry who got what teenagers desired, were scared of and felt. The man was/is a legend and the 80's belonged to him. The Breakfast Club is one of my favourites from him. Planes, Trains and Automobiles still takes the top spot, but The Breakfast Club has more of an emotional connection to the viewer.
The cast, also known as the Brat Pack, do a wonderful job filling in their high school clichÃ©d roles. Emilio Estevez , the mighty duck man I swear to god, plays the jock. He has an intense and emotional scene that felt like an anthem for millions of teens going through the same problems. The same goes for the other characters, all have problems in their lives that every other teenager can relate to. Whether it's Judd Nelson and his abusive father or Michael Anthony Hall and the pressure to do well in school.
Paul Gleason is wonderfully evil as the principal who seems to have a hate for these kids. His speeches are great to listen to and he nails the role. His performance is my favourite the in the film. Look out for that John Hughes cameo at the end as the kids are picked up from detention. That's a little something extra for you folks at home that dig that kind of stuff.
The music rocks, the theme is still played today and is immediately associated with the film. There are many memorable scenes, too many to mention and the overall feel of the film has numerous re-watch capabilities. When people think of John Hughes, the one film I think that they will immediately go to is The Breakfast Club. Not only was it the film the teenagers of the 80's could relate to, but it's a film that will live on and touch the hearts of many others. It's funny, depressing and emotionally challenges you. It doesn't treat you like an idiot, Hughes knew his audience and treated the kids with the intelligence he knew they had.