1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- The Breakfast Club

#751- The Breakfast Club
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson
Directed by: John Hughes


Plot Summary: When a criminal, an athlete, a princess, a brain, and a basket case are given Saturday detention, they come together as representation of different high school cliques. They spend a lot of time arguing, but find out that they have a lot in common. Through discussion, they all become friends when they realize that they all suffer from similar issues, including pressure at school and at home. The group also wonders if they will still be friends when Monday comes, or if they will go back to their cliques, forgetting the bond they have shared with one another.


I think I watched The Breakfast Club at the perfect time. I was a senior in high school and was not only planning on graduating from high school to college, but I was also planning on moving across the country a month after graduating. When I saw the movie, I was really able to appreciate it from the point of view of a high school student and go "I've been there." The movie opens and closes with the song "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. That song really captures the theme of the movie involving high school cliques.

It's hard to describe a lot of the scenes or moments that make The Breakfast Club a good movie. This is not a film with a complex plot, but is more like a character study. All five characters are memorable for different reasons. Allison Reynolds, played by Ally Sheedy, is labelled as "the basket case." She's a character that most of us have probably seen in school. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and from an outside perspective can exhibit odd and eccentric behavior. Allison is a tough character to grasp, only because she doesn't reveal a whole lot about her until around the end of the movie. I don't even think her name is mentioned until about halfway through the movie.

Brian Johnson, played by Anthony Michael Hall, is "the brain." Brian is considered a geek by the popular crowd at school and it is easy to see why. He is involved in the Physics Club and the Math Club, he does well in his classes and is friends with people like him. Brian is a fun character for the movie, as he is a character that many can relate to. In high school, many people feel like they are not a part of the popular crowd and can probably say they are more like Brian when it comes to fitting in at school. Brian's biggest pressure is about his grades, so much so that the idea of him getting a B pushes him to extreme measure.

"The athlete" is Andrew Clark, played by Emilio Estevez. Andrew is a varsity letterman on  the wrestling team and is doing detention so he doesn't blow a scholarship. He tries to go by the rules and get through detention as quickly as possible. His biggest character flaw is peer pressure, which is a common problem for teenagers. He is described as not being able to think for himself and goes along with what the others are doing just because it looks like fun. To me, Andrew is the glue that holds this group together, as he is able to have great love/hate relationships with all of them. A major piece of character development occurs in the relationship he has with his father, resulting in a monologue that is one of the most dramatic moments in the entire film.

Claire Standish, played by Molly Ringwald, is "the princess." She is the popular girl who loves to go to the mall and is up to date on all of the latest trends. Typically, those kind of characters are ones that many people would dislike, but Ringwald has a quality about her that is likeable and even relatable. There is a great moment in the film where Brian is being teased for being a virgin, but Claire stands up for Brian and says she thinks its ok for a guy to be a virgin. Moments like this is where Claire can really shine as a likeable character. Claire also has her tendencies to annoy me as well. There are times when she has a "holier than thou" mentality when it comes to the rest of the teenagers. There is a scene where she tells the group that she doesn't think they'll be friends on Monday, speaking on behalf of who is and is not popular.

Finally, there is John Bender, played by Judd Nelson. Bender is "the criminal" of the school and my favorite character in the movie. Bender is responsible for delivering most of my favorite lines and moments in the film. He is not just comedic though, he also has his fair share of dramatic moments. While all of the characters are able to have good friendships with one another, Bender is able to have an added relationship with Vice Principal Richard Vernon, played by Paul Gleason. Bender and Vernon are naturally combustible elements and their confrontations can range from hilarious to dramatic in an instant. Bender is one of the best characters in the film because he is an embodiment of teenage rebellion in the '80s. Bender is just one of the numerous reasons I love The Breakfast Club and is a movie that I won't be forgetting about any time soon.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Easily recommend owning this movie in your collection. Anybody that has an appreciation for anything '80s needs to see this movie. The scenes, lines, and characters are all iconic, and help make The Breakfast Club one of my favorite films of all-time.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

The Breakfast Club and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures