The Greatest Teen Film Of All Time And John Hughes' (RIP)Greatest Film. A Landmark Classic.

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 2013)

The Breakfast Club is the greatest Teen film of all time and is not only a Teen classic of the 80s,but a film Classic for all times. With a great balance of Comedy,Drama,Great Direction,excellent performances and an well-written screenplay,The Breakfast Club is John Hughes' greatest film and is a landmark in Teen Films,High School Films and Coming Of Age films.
Set on March 24,1984 in Shermer High School in Shermer,Illinois,The Breakfast Club tells the story of five High School students Brian Johnson,The Brain(Anthony Michael Hall),Andrew Clark,The Athlete(Emilio Estevez),Allison Reynolds,The Basketcase(Ally Sheedy),Claire Standish,The Princess(Molly Ringwald)and John Bender,The Criminal(Judd Nelson)who are from different social backgrounds and have to serve detention on a Saturday under the watchful eye of teacher Richard Vernon(Paul Gleason). While there in detention,the five students talk to each other and realize they have a lot in common beyond their stereotypes and social classes and the experience changes their lives forever making them known forever as...The Breakfast Club.
What can be said about The Breakfast Club that hasn't been said already,it's a classic that revolutionized Teen films at the time and has a style and influence that has been imitated,but never duplicated. The reason,I think TBC works do well is because of the five teen characters and how we can relate to each of them in different ways discussing their fears,desires and problems with their parents. The Teenage years can be a funny,strange and confusing time for many people and Hughes puts it on full display with this film giving us three dimensional characters that are lifted beyond their stereotypes and showing true emotions and feelings and no matter what race,color or class you are you'll identify with each character. While the fashions and music are of the 80s,the feelings and emotions are truly timeless and heartfelt and one of the reasons TBC has stood the test of time. The screenplay by John Hughes(which Hughes wrote in 2 days)is excellent and well-written balancing Comedy and Drama and giving the characters memorable dialog,while they're laughs and funny moments,they're moments of great drama and truth in some of the scenes. Hughes was a true master of the teenage language and the dialog in TBC feels real and authentic almost like you're next to the characters hearing the dialog. I don't think that Hughes was trying reinvent or revolutionize the Teen genre,but unintentionally he did with this film and his other films as well bringing a depth and excellence that hadn't been seen in Teen films since Rebel Without A Cause and American Graffiti. The only 80s Teen films that can match TBC's honesty and truth is Hughes' other films and Fast Times At Ridgemont High. While Hughes' other films Ferris Bueller's Day Off,Sixteen Candles,Pretty In Pink,Some Kind Of Wonderful and Weird Science are also classics of the Teen film genre,TBC in my opinion will remain his most enduring and most powerful. What I also love about the film is the setting being in one location which is a High School library which is used to great effect and adds to the film. Making a Teen movie set in one location with no sex,nudity,parties or drinking(although the characters do use drugs in the film)seemed like a risky gamble at the time,but Hughes makes use of his one location and still keeps the film entertaining and interesting. The one location gives the film a feeling or style of stage play or an small independent film and Hughes in his own way made a film like 12 Angry Men or Glengarry Glen Ross,where instead of 12 jurors and real estate office workers,it's teenagers in High School. Despite the film being set in one location Hughes keeps the film moving at a quick pace and a lot of energy and as a viewer you are glued to the screen. The ending of the film is a great ending and makes the viewers asks a lot of questions and gives us no answers. It's a masterful ending that will make us the viewers put together the dots and answers and have us wondering what happened to the characters and is one of the reasons TBC is brilliant.
The whole cast does a great job. Emilio Estevez is excellent as Andrew,the Wrestling jock who's pressured to succeed and win. Judd Nelson is brilliant in his career defining performance as John Bender,a rebel who is cynical,irritating,yet likable. Anthony Michael Hall is great as Brian,the smart kid who has to have high grades or will fail in life. Molly Ringwald is wonderful as Claire,the popular girl who is the target of Bender's irritation. Ally Sheedy is effective as Allison,the outcast who doesn't say much,but talks as times rolls on. Paul Gleason(RIP)is great as John Vernon,cynical teacher who hates the students at the school,especially Bender. John Kapelos does a fine and funny job as Carl The Janitor who offers words of wisdom to the kids and Vernon.
The direction by John Hughes is simple,but great,with Hughes bringing a lot of energy to the film with his writing and direction. Great Job,John. Thank you John Hughes for giving viewers great Teen films that are timeless classics that will live on and be loved and cherished forever. RIP,John.
Keith Forsey's score in the film is seldom used,but works and fits with film's tone. The film has a great soundtrack as well,especially with the film iconic theme song Don't You(Forget About Me)by Simple Minds and other great songs Fire In The Twilight(Wang Chung)and We Are Not Alone(Karla DeVito). Hughes' films always had great soundtracks and TBC is no exception.
In final word,if you love John Hughes,Teen Films,High School Films,Coming Of Age films or films in general,I suggest you see The Breakfast Club,a true classic that will stand the test of time and will live forever in cinema and with audiences. Highly Recommended. 10/10.