"You just bought yourself another Saturday"

Rating: 9/10 (12 April 2020)

John Hughes's 'quintessential' '80s film is still as relevant today as it was thirty-odd years ago. A film that really gets to the heart of the teenage characters as they languish together in Saturday detention with the highly-strung Mr. Vernon, who seems to hate them all. The four kids are representatives of four distinctive cliques; there's the weird girl Allison, the athlete Andrew, the prim-and-proper Claire who looks down on everyone, the nerd Brian and finally, the wild, rebel-without-a-case bad boy John. None of them would be caught dead in the other's company usually, but as their sentence in detention stretches from 7am - 4pm and they are virtually left their own devices in the library, their initial hostility towards one another eventually dissipates as they bond and realise they actually have a lot in common. But at the end of the day, the question is asked and we are left to wonder, What will happen Monday?
"The Breakfast Club" is well-deserving of its status as a classic 80s film but it also holds up to be more than that. It's undeniable charm and the excellent performances from the small cast make it one to remember. Hughes did not have much experience when he made this, and I believe he was under some pressure from the studio and producers, but he did a tremendous job, essentially filming a stage-production with the action all taking place (mostly) in the one room. This always serves to add a more personal feel to a film. ending, with the famous song by Simple Minds playing to Judd Nelson raising his fist triumphantly in the air, is one of the most iconic in cinema history, and is one of my all-time favourites.