The Breakfast Club was released on February 15, 1985. It starred Emilio Estevez as Andrew Clark (the Athlete), Anthony Micheal Hall as Brian Johnson (the Nerd), Judd Nelson as John Bender (the Troublemaker), Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish (the Preppy Rich Girl), and Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds (the Basket Case). The film was directed by probably one of the greatest storytelling directors in history the late John Hughes.
The film begins with a short introduction of the characters and their involvement with their parents. For example when Brian (Hall) is in the car with his mother, she asks him if it will be the first or last time he will be in detention and stating that he had better spend time studying, but when Brian replies "we're not supposed to study" she emphatically states " Well mister you be better find a way to study!". With these, we as an audience are given a little bit of a look at what happens to the characters when they are outside the confines of school.
As our characters enter the school, we can feel and see the tension and resistance of each other through gestures and remarks. Also the authoritative adult figure in the film principal Richard Vernon (played by Paul Gleason) does not help matters as he talks down, insults and flaunts his authority in front of the students. Our characters are asked to right a 1000 word essay describing who they are. Tensions rise between Bender (Nelson) and Andrew (Estevez) over a number of things including Bender's language and treatment of Claire (Ringwald) and his destructive behavior that leads Andrew to believe that it is all a show for Bender to get attention.
We start to see the emotional aspect of Bender and his life as he leads the group to his locker to retrieve his stash of marijuana. The group spots Vernon (Gleason) in the hallway forcing the group to run for their lives in the hopes of not getting caught. When the group hits a dead end, Bender instructs the group to head back to the library and he will take the fall as he places his marijuana in Brian's (Hall) pants. Vernon finds Bender in the gymnasium and leads him back to the library to get his belongings so that he can spend the rest of the day in a closet in Vernon's office. Before they leave to go to Vernon's office he embarrasses Bender by saying that he doesn't matter and that no cares whether or not he is living and encourages the group to see him 5 years just to glance at Bender to see what he has made of himself. We can see the emotion that Bender is putting out through a moment when he and Vernon are in the closet as Vernon threatens to fight Bender just to show that he is nothing and he also implies that " If we get into a fight who is going to believe you. I am a respectable man in this school and you are nothing but coward and a nobody". Bender proceeds to sneak out of the closet and back into the library so that he can smoke his hidden stash of marijuana.
As the group begins to bond , they begin to learn more about each others lives. They sit in a distant part of the library and discuss why they are actually in detention and if they are destined to turn out like their parents. The film proceeds with a big dancing scene that shows the bond that these characters have built in just a short amount of time. The film ends with the characters leaving the school with a new found respect and outlook on each other and their lives.
This film is a perfect for everyone especially for high school students as they can relate to the characters. I give this movie a 9.5 out of 10.
So ladies and gentleman what do you think about The Breakfast Club, are you able to relate to the characters and what would you rate it. Let me know and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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