The Breakfast Club

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2010)

This film's theme relates to an array of issues that revolves around the development of the characters; influence, acceptance, diversity, prejudice, tolerance, family issues and how to just survive high school. "The Breakfast Club" is about a group of five teenagers who have very little in common and don't care much for each other. They come from different walks of life and are reluctant to accept each other. But when sentenced to serve a detention in the high school library on a Saturday morning for eight hours, they end up revealing their inner secrets (with the help of a little pot session) and realize they have more things in common than they first thought; by the end of the day they become friends. "Somewhat" supervised by the Principal Richard Vernon played by Paul Gleason who ironically is also doing detention in his office and knocking back a few beers. The outcome is very predictable, which could be an understatement, but the cast was very effective as their characters opened up to their emotions. The main characters were the typical students in most high schools in the 1980's and to some extent are still the same today; Andrew the jock played by Emillo Estevez, Brian the brain played by Anthony Michael Hall, Bender the jerk played by Judd Nelson, Claire the popular princess played by Molly Ringwald, and Allison the introverted basket case played by Ally Sheedy. Written and directed by John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Sixteen Candles) has the ability to tap into the minds of teenagers and show them as adolescents trying to find a place in a culture that is sometimes hardened and unsympathetic or unable to understand the dilemma of survival in high school and society. The sound track used in the film was typical 1980's music which had various artists including Simple Minds "Don't You (Forget about me) and a main feature point in the film, without the sound track this movie would have been lifeless. Brian played by Anthony Michael Hall opens and ends the movie with a short voice-over narration. The inside/out editing technique is apparent in the very first shot where the scene "breaks" away (looks like glass shattering) and the focus moves on to the beginning of the movie. Overall this movie was dead on in the 80's; influential and controversial at the same time and although I preferred John Hughes' movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off much better this movie was Hughes' most successful.