Review of The Breakfast Club (1985) by Mimi S — 16 Feb 2014

The Breakfast Club is one of the best early teen movies which has a strong original storyline and is still something which is still relevant to modern teenagers. The film is about 5 teenagers who are forced to attend a Saturday detention for 8 hours (a bit harsh- when I was at school detention was only an hour long after school). The teenagers are all from different cliques; John (Judd Nelson) is a tough criminal and junkie heading the in the wrong direction in life, Andy (Emilio Estevez- if you want to know an interesting fact is Charlie Sheen's brother) who is a jock or athlete, Claire (Molly Ringwald) who is the princess and part of the popular crowd, Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) who is a nerd and Alison (Ally Sheedy) who is the outcast. Initially the kids have nothing in common, but being forced to spend 8 hours in the same room, they begin to open up to one another.

The teenagers all face different problems; Claire is a virgin, Brian attempted suicide due to getting an F grade for a piece of work. However the common problem that they all face is with their parents. The teens end up bonding over their unhappy home lives. The Breakfast Club has a lot of heartfelt messages which teenagers could learn a thing or two about. At school people try so hard to fit in that they overlook the people who could potentially be good friends to them because they aren't cool enough or their friends wouldn't approve. Brian asks the others if they will continue being friends after detention end and hang out together at school, but Claire replies that's it's unrealistic because her clique would not approve of her new group of friends. This film brings back a lot of memories of my highschool days and how everyone belonged to a clique and no one would make friends with a person outside their clique; it was really sad. I was a bit like Alison in that I didn't have any friends. This film reiterates how tough it is being a teenager; boy I'm so glad I'm no longer in high school.

The Breakfast Club is a touching and powerful film which like I said teenagers everywhere can relate to. A lot can be learnt from this film. The script is well written and there's good character development. The performances were decent and honest; also I found the school principle Dick Vernon (Paul Gleason) really funny and representative of a lot of teachers; he's kind of like Mr Gilbert from the Inbetweeners (a British TV series set in a school) in that he just vehemently despises his students. Boy being a teacher isn't easy either. 30 years on this film is still a classic though God it's weird to think that this film is that old; it was even made before my big brother was born. This is a really great film. I like the ending as well, it really leaves you a lot to think about. If you haven't seen the Breakfast Club I highly recommend it!

Grade: A.