The Breakfast Club

Rating:
Summary: a good film
Review: this was an interesting look into teenage life in the 1980s.

Rating:
Summary: Everybody's High School
Review: This is the classic style of every click being represented in high schools across the county. How unique to represent each of the clicks in school and how they somewhat share the same problems at home. This is one classic that I never get tired of watching.

Rating:
Summary: The Breakfast Club: A Sensational Movie!!!
Review: From the comedy and the laughter, to the seriousness and the teardrops, this movie will leave a trail of sensation laying at our feet for years to come. The "criminal" John Bender (Judd Nelson), "the athlete" Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), "the princess", Claire (Molly Ringwald), "the brain" Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), and "the basket case" (Ally Sheedy). The 5 students who spent a day in detention, and changed an entire generation. The Principal, John Hughes, had an important role in this movie as the director. While the 5 were in detention, each of their assignments was to write 5,000 word essay about they thought they were. While nobody but Brian wanted to write his essay, he was provoked into writing one, that combined the movie into the serious events of that 80's Saturday and touched the hearts of millions.

Saturday, May 4, 1987

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are, you see us as you want to see us, im the simplest terms, or the most conveinient definition, but what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and a athlete, and a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

Sincerely Yours,
The Breakfast Club

Rating:
Summary: A great 80s comedy
Review: The Breakfast Club is definitely 80s, but everyone can relate to the roles of the characters (jock, nerd, prom queen, etc.) from high school days. The DVD has great picture and sound quality.

Rating:
Summary: One of life's great lessons
Review: This movie is not only an 80's classic, but can teach teenagers valuable lessons. The whole storyline teaches teens that everyone can be insecure and doubt themselves at times, and that you should never judge a book by its cover. People who seem like they are "hard-core" or who seem to "have it all" have just as many personal struggles as the next guy (or girl). It teaches acceptance and self-esteem lessons as well. The language is pretty harsh, but realistic. I would recommend a parent watching this movie with their teen and discussing it with them. Teens may only see the entertainment value unless a parent or other responsible adult helps uncover the messages hidden in the storyline. Excellent movie!!!

Rating:
Summary: They're Grrrrrreat!
Review: Back in 1986, this film successfully spoke very clearly and accurately for high school students. And now over 15 years later, it still stands. Writer/Producer/Director John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's day off) put 5 students of different cliques together for 8 hours.
A Brain. An Athlete. A Basket Case. A Princess. A Criminal.
The casting is defining and the result served the story very well. Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen candles) is the brainy Brian. Emilio Estevez is the Athlete, Andrew. Ally Sheedy(Short Circuit) is the basketcase, Allison. Molly Ringwald (Pretty in Pink) is the Princess, Claire. Judd Nelson is the criminal, John Bender. Through all their chiding, differences and arguments, a bond is formed that new authority figure could ever topple. That is what attracted me to the film as a teenager and the message still stands today. This is a very funny ensemble piece with a strong theme for all generations, but is still aimed for the teenage crowd. Still, Hughes should be acknowledged for this film, giving respect to the problems facing Gen-X.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Comedy!
Review: THE BREAKFAST CLUB is an excellent example of school life as it really is-- there are always bullies, jocks, brains, princesses, and basket cases all around us. John Hughes direction is excellent, as the film as a real quality to it-- you may feel like it has actually happened! All of the performances are great-- the standouts here are Judd Nelson as John Bender, Molly Ringwald as Claire, and Emilio Estevez as Andy. Anthony Michael Hall as Brian and Ally Sheedy as Alison are also great.

This film will make you feel a little nostalgic if you have lived through the 80's; may even make you remember your high school days. Despite all of the language and the situations that those five students stuck in detention go through, at the end of it all, you just can't help but feel good about it all. Because, in the end, they all realize that everyone has issues and problems they have to face, and that, way down deep inside, despite their differences, they are all the same.

Rating:
Summary: You see as you want to see us.....
Review: This is it. The film that started the teen flick phenomenom. Granted, Sixteen Candles came before this, but it never made it like The Breakfast Club did. In years to come we'd see other great teen flicks like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink and the modern, gross out movies of the nineties, such as Road Trip and American Pie. But it was The Breakfast Club that started it all off.

It's part of pop culture, influencing in many films and referenced in hundreds of others. If you only buy one movie this year, get a life. If you buy several, make sure this is one of them. It's a movie that needs to be in your collection.

From Judd Nelson's sarcastic Bender, to Molly Ringwald's prom queen princess Claire, the cast are a shining example of the Brat Pack, and make the whole film flow together and make it easily watched. It's believable and has a great soundtrack. John Hughes did a bang up job of writing and directing (not to mention producing) this coming of age teen comedy drama. This movie is not to be missed. Go on, treat yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Classic and ageless teen angst.
Review: John Hughes, like no other, can combine hilarity and sorrow into a film and it all works. TBC is just that movie. We laugh at all of the stereotypes of the high school class system.

The Brain
The Criminal
The Athlete
The Princess
The Basket Case

Admittedly, there is an element of self-analysis when anyone watches this movie. You really can't help but place yourself into one of those stereotypical roles and gaze at your own frailties. However, it all wraps up cleanly because people are people and we really aren't that different. How poignant that it takes an 8 hour Saturday detention to enlighten the souls of these five kids.

You must own all John Hughes movies.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie with Educational Value
Review: This movie takes many issues that are crucial to teens - image, belonging, handling harassment, chaotic home lives spilling over into school, abuse, neglect, alienation, stereotypes - and showcases those issues through an encounter between a diverse group of high-schoolers stuck in Saturday morning detention together. The acting is first-rate, and the characters are three-dimensional and realistic. When I did group therapy with young teens, we used this movie as a launching pad to discuss serious issues. Parents could easily use it the same way. While some of the slang terms and dress styles are becoming dated now, the issues are as relevant today as they were when the movie was released. Sadly, this movie is all-too-realistic; the troubling issues portrayed are very real aspects of the lives of some teens. However, that is also a strength of this film; you can't deal with suffering without facing it first, and this movie puts the spotlight where it needs to be.