The Breakfast Club
I came to The Breakfast Club late, having seen it for the first time somewhere within the last five years. By the time I finally got around it, I was way past high school, and possibly out of college as well. I remember it as an uncanny experience, watching this teen movie that was released twenty years before my own time in high school, being simultaneously older and younger than the five mismatched delinquents that earned a spot in an all-day weekend detention session (a bizarre punishment that I had never heard of in my entire school experience). Despite the strange distance I feel from the characters in the story, I can’t help but love the film for what it is – five relative strangers learning about each other, poking at each other’s sensitivities, and learning how to pull out the deepest thoughts and fears from each other. It’s a bit like 12 Angry Men, but the anger these kids have is worth as much as a baker’s dozen men, at least.
The most impressive element of Hughes’ screenplay is its treatment of time. Scenes linger, as the five students seamlessly transition from struggling to ease within their boredom, volleying insults back and forth at one another, and retreating back to discussions of the trivialities of high school life. Hughes also inserts brilliant jumps of time into the film, as the audience is suddenly presented with the group in a position, place, or mood that leaves the audience to wonder what happened to lead them to this particular moment. Of course, the frequency with which the characters’ behaviors fluctuate within scenes makes such unseen shifts so believable, and lends to the greatness of the script.
This brings me to my evaluation of the characters and the performances of the five lead actors. While I love the idea of five different representations of high school cliques speaking on behalf of their peers’ experiences, I can’t help but value some of these characters more highly than others. It’s not that I can’t appreciate their perspectives, or view them as essentially goodhearted characters, but I find that the writing for two characters, Claire (Molly Ringwald) and Andrew (Emilio Estevez), leagues less compelling than those of the other three characters. It’s difficult for me to determine if this is due to the writing or performance, but it could very well be a combination of the two (I have never been impressed with Ringwald or Estevez in other roles). On the other hand, Bender (Judd Nelson) and Allison (Ally Sheedy), provide an air of mystery to the script (they are both portrayed as, and referred to, as liars). Furthermore, I find their performances, as well as the fantastically nuanced performance by Anthony Michael Hall as Brian, to be compelling and moving, and makes me much more invested in these three characters than the social elite…
The final aspect of the film I’d like to touch upon is that classic scene with the characters sitting on the floor, pouring their hearts out to each other, delivering dramatic monologue after dramatic monologue. I hate this scene. I mean I really, truly hate it. In an otherwise excellent film that subtly acknowledges the small awkward moments of adolescence, as well as directly addressing the trials that can befall the life of a high schooler with the appropriate amount of angst-ridden grace, this scene is just too much. There’s too much of everything: too much acting, too much writing, and not enough of what makes the rest of the film so great. I firmly believe that this entire scene could have been removed from the film and it would have been absolutely fine. With all of the perfect little undulations of tension in each scene, there was no need for an ‘emotional climax’ that seems to serve the sole purpose of allowing Hughes, and the leads, to showboat. However, despite my major qualm with this scene, The Breakfast Club continues to be a joy to re-watch for all of the delicious little surprises that surround it. – Bailey 💄
It is hard to deny the iconic status that The Breakfast Club has achieved among teen and high school genre films, but the film is not without its flaws. The dialogue is choppy, the plot non-existent, and the interactions between the characters is unbelievable, for the most part. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the film, but I think my memory of watching the film as a high school student, and identifying with the angst of the teenage characters, has left more of a lasting impression upon me than repeat viewings.
What has struck me most upon re-watching The Breakfast Club is the cathartic nature of the film paired with its unrealistic fantasy ending. The two tones don’t really gel all that well… The antagonistic nature established from the film’s onset, with the hatred between the films main ‘adult’ figure, assistant principal Vernon (John Kapelos), and teen John Bender (Judd Nelson), and then Bender’s subsequent torment of his fellow detentionees, is so aggressive and played with such seriousness that any humor these scenes should have, ends up falling flat. This sets up the tone for the remainder of the film, and sure there are some humorous bonding moments between the characters, despite their perceived stereotypes, but I have to agree with Claire (Molly Ringwald’s character), there is no way that these teens will socialize beyond their time spent in detention.
And that is what makes the moments leading up to the end of the film so unrealistic. Claire giving Allison (Ally Sheedy) a makeover, and then Andrew (Emilio Estevez) becoming lovestruck, is overly exaggerated, and would not happen in the real world. The same is true of Claire surprising Bender in the storage closet, as, given the relentless harassment preceding this moment, I don’t see that happening in real life. And maybe that’s the point of the film. What happens in detention, stays in detention. It’s as if this library has transformed into some Shakespearean ‘green world,’ a mystical (and metaphorical) wood where anything can happen, desires are explored, and characters come to terms with some deep-seated truth about themselves, emerging changed and bettered due to their shared experiences.
Realistic or fantasy, overly serious or funny, the contradictions of The Breakfast Club are timeless. Teens today are just as cliquey as those from 35 years ago, and this film speaks to those experiences and struggles. The pervading themes within the film, the disconnect between perceptions and one’s self, and the capability of humans to embody many traits, as Brian’s (Anthony Michael Hall) essay points out, “each one of us is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal,” and that’s perfectly okay. – Sarah 📚
John Bender (Judd Nelson) in The Breakfast Club’s iconic final scene (1985).
What are your thoughts on The Breakfast Club? Who is your favorite character? What do you think of our reviews? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to check back with us next week for our March Film Club Pick!
Happy Leap Year!
Copyright © 2020 Sarah Crane & Bailey Lizotte
