John Hughes’ ’80s classic, “The Breakfast Club” remains a masterpiece which shows a generational tradition of teenage archetypes, and that your passport to surviving high school is one thing — sticking to the status quo. Like oil and water, “The Breakfast Club” presents five high school students from worlds that simply don’t mix.
The film gives a realistic taste of teenage experience, while showing us the sad transition from youth to adulthood, which Ally Sheedy’s character, Allison, tearfully ingrained into our minds with the words, “When you grow up, your heart dies.”
It also shows us that the catalyst to bonding is a common enemy and a confined space. It interestingly delves into many serious themes such as stereotyping, abuse, and mental illness, in the matter of 1 hour and 37 minutes. The film is so incredibly entertaining that if detention was this fun in real life, I probably would’ve showed up for once!
Impressive Symbolism and Character Distinctions
What leaves me in awe is the mind-blowing use of symbolism that enforce the character distinctions. John Bender’s (Judd Nelson) layers of clothing, hide his fragility behind a rebellious exterior and Allison Reynolds’s (Ally Sheedy) pitch-black outfit show her dark nature. How the film helped us understand a character’s mental state through the use of a cloth amazes me. Similarly with their lunches, as Claire Standish’s (Molly Ringwald) fancy sushi and Brian Johnson’s (Anthony Michael Hall) perfectly-represented lunch showed me enough about their family upbringing. Even their sitting positions on the tables symbolised their social power.
Nothing impressed me more than Judd Nelson’s breath-taking performance as John Bender, as his flawless portrayal made his character one of the most well-known rebel figures in film history. How 25-year-old Judd Nelson played a 16-year-old high schooler, outshining the rest from the moment he struts into the library, is beyond me. I particularly adored his chemistry with Molly Ringwald’s character, Claire, as he was almost like a ‘guilty pleasure’ for her. And based on how dreamy he is, it’s quite understandable on my behalf.
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Not to forget his moving performances with Principle Vernon (Paul Gleason), as they accurately demonstrated the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ a sociological phenomenon for someone to live up to a prediction. I can definitely see Nelson pouring his heart and soul out on my TV screen.
An Iconic Film that Holds Up After 35+ Years
Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, and Anthony Michael Hall in “The Breakfast Club.” (Photo: Universal Pictures).
Despite re-watching it an infinite number of times, the improvised confession scene remains one of the most moving scenes I’ve seen in a teen movie, where the characters sit and share their emotional woes. John and Claire’s fiery dispute with a build-up of romantic tension, and Brian and Andrew’s heartfelt vent of parental pressure felt like an emotional rollercoaster.
The exhilarating scene in which they’re running around the corridors to avoid getting caught by Principle Vernon also added an adventurous touch to the film. Finally, the most treasured scene is John and Claire’s intimate kiss at the end, as it finally relieved us from the will-they-wont-they tension. From my perspective, the film doesn’t limit itself to a typical teen drama, and has a much bigger purpose, as teenagers model how youths are being moulded into broken adults.
Along with its iconic soundtrack, “(Dont You) Forget About Me” by Simple Minds, Hughes made the film so unique and memorable we’re still watching it in 2021. Even after 40 years, it’s lead to generations asking the same question. What happens on Monday?
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