Classic Mix of Laughs and Drama

Rating: Null/10 (1 March 2014)

The Breakfast Club (1985)
**** (out of 4)
Some great movies are works of art that should be studied by all generations. Some examples of this include GONE WITH THE WIND, CITIZEN KANE, PSYCHO and RAGING BULL. Other great movies are simply those that aren't really art but they succeed at being tremendously entertaining and manage to put a smile on your face no matter how many times you see it and that's where something like THE BREAKFAST CLUB falls. The story of five different types of high school students having detention is such a simple idea but writer/director John Hughes managed to make it speak to a generation of people much like REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE spoke to those in the 1950s. Again, this here isn't a piece of art to be studied but there's no question that it's a true gem. A lot of credit has to go to the screenplay because it perfectly shows how different types of people are usually haunted by the same emotions or fears. I really think the film does a very good job at shining a light on teenager's hypocrisy and how most simply don't like others because they don't really know them. There are so many great comedy moments in the film but some of the most memorable stuff comes towards the end as the drama starts to make its way to the center of the story. It also doesn't hurt that the cast was spot on perfection. Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy are simply perfect in their roles as is Paul Gleason as the mean teacher. All of them perfectly nail their characters and there's not a single frame where you don't believe that you're seeing real characters with real emotions and flaws. Add in the now famous main song, the witty dialogue and the overall fun nature and it's easy to see why this film connected with people in 1985 and remains popular nearly thirty years later.