The Breakfast Club
1 rating since posting on Saturday, March 17, 2007
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in Sacramento
(submitted by
Vincent
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Overall Rating  based on 1 rating |
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I can't really say that I understood this movie because honestly I didn't. But I can tell you one thing for sure, and thats my knowledge of classic movies of the 1970's, 1980's and 1990s generation. The Breakfast Club is about a group of young teenagers in Chicago that spend a full Saturday together in detention in the school library at the same time they deal with pressure, and problems that they have. The Breakfast Club is a 1985 teen film widely considered as the definitive work in the genre. Written and directed by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club storyline follows five teenagers (each representing a different clique in high school) as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes. The film has become a cult classic and has had a tremendous influence on many coming of age films since then. Plot:The plot follows five students at fictional Shermer High School in the widely used John Hughes setting of Shermer, Illinois (a fictitious suburb of Chicago based on New Trier), as they report for Saturday detention on March 24, 1984. Complete strangers, the five teenagers are all from a different clique or social group: Name Description Reason for Detention Claire Standish The Princess: a wealthy spoiled girl skipping school to go shopping Andrew Clark The Athlete: a varsity wrestler taping a fellow student's butt cheeks together Brian Johnson The Brain: a nerd bringing a flare gun to school (in a parasuicidal gesture) that accidentally discharged in his locker, causing minor property damage John Bender The Criminal: a troublemaker who continually causes problems at school it is suggested that this particular detention is for pulling the fire alarm (but it is not definite as it is implied that it isn't unusual for him to be there) Allison Reynolds The Basketcase: a kleptomaniac and self-described "compulsive liar" she has nothing better to do (according to her) The five strangers, who seem to have nothing in common at first, come together at the high school library, where they are harangued and ordered not to speak or move from their seats by the antagonistic Principal Mr. Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) and remain for a period of nine hours (from 7.A.M. to 4.P.M.). He assigns a 1000 word essay (in which each student must write about who they think they are) and then leaves them mostly unsupervised, returning only occasionally to check on them. Bender, who has a particularly negative relationship with Mr. Vernon, disregards the rules and riles up the other students; mocking Brian and Andy and sexually harassing Claire. Allison remains oddly quiet except for the occasional random outburst. The students pass the hours in a variety of ways: they dance, harass each other, tell stories, fight, smoke marijuana, and speak on a variety of subjects. Gradually they open up to each other and reveal their inner secrets (for example, Allison is a kleptomaniac and a compulsive liar and Brian is ashamed of his virginity). They also discover that they all have strained relationships with their parents and are afraid of making the same mistakes as the adults around them. However, despite these developing friendships, the students are afraid that once the detention is over, they will return to their very different cliques and never speak to each other again. Nevertheless, genuine connections have been made. Andy and Allison are drawn to each other, and Claire and Bender overcome their differences and kiss. Both couples exchange tokens: Allison takes a patch from Andy's letter jacket, and is seen with his jacket around her shoulders at the very end of the movie when they're saying goodbye. Claire gives Bender one of her diamond earrings. At the request and consensus of the students, Brian is asked to write the essay Mr. Vernon assigned earlier (the subject of which was to be a synopsis by each student detailing "who you think you are"), which challenges Mr. Vernon and his preconceived judgments about all of them. Brian does so, but instead of writing about the actual topic he writes a very motivating letter that is in essence, the main point of the story. He signs the essay as "The Breakfast Club" and leaves it at the table for Mr. Vernon to read when they leave. There are two versions for this letter, one read at the beginning and one at the end, and they are slightly different; illustrating the change in the student's judgments of one another, and their realization that they truly have things in common. The beginning letter is as follows: Brian Johnson (although that is unknown at this point): Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois. 60062. 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. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed. The end letter is as follows: Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was 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... In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... Andrew Clark: ...and an athlete... Allison Reynolds: ...and a basket case... Claire Standish: ...a princess... John Bender: ...and a criminal... Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club. The letter is the focal point of the film, as it demonstrates and illustrates the changes the students went through during the course of the day; the attitudes and perspectives have changed and are now completely different. [edit] Main Characters John Bender: The "rebel" of the group, John Bender is arguably the catalyst of the group who provokes many of the happenings throughout the film. While he is hostile at first towards the others in the room with him, he seems to have a more tolerant attitude towards Allison, whom he defends against Principal Vernon, and mentions seeing her around before. Bender is a detention regular and antagonizes Principal Vernon. At home, he is a victim of child abuse, particularly by his father, who, he says, gave him a carton of cigarettes for Christmas. Claire Standish: Claire is the "richie" in detention. She's used to being sheltered by her group of friends and doting parents. She is almost afraid of being there and is quickly made the target of John Bender's taunting, particularly because she outwardly appears spoiled and unworldly. As she gets to know the others in detention with her, she begins to open her mind bit-by-bit. At home, her bickering parents only pamper her in order to spite each other, a fact which she is painfully aware of. Like Brian, she is sensitive about being a virgin. Andrew Clark: Andy is the film's "jock." Andy, like Claire, is ashamed of being in detention and is used to the better end of social life at school. But unlike Claire, Andy is constantly pushed beyond his limits, by his coaches, friends and father. He isn't fond of John Bender, but seems to have a soft edge as far as protecting Claire against John's taunting, and is amused by Allison Reynold's strange outbursts. At home, his father forces him to win, which pressures him pushing him to the limit to commit the crime he committed for ending up in detention (he beat up a boy and then taped his butt cheeks together which resulted in the boy losing some skin when the tape was torn off). Allison Reynolds: the "basketcase" of the group, Allison is easily the most sympathetic character of the five students in detention. She is the most socially isolated and claims to have no friends. She hides beneath her hair and the hood of her parka when frightened and amuses herself in one version of the film by counting the flakes of dandruff drifting from her hair. For the first half of the film she is quiet, save for occasional chipmunk like "squeaks" of fear and a few random outbursts, but later on she opens up, particularly to Andy. She is the least hesitant to talk openly about her home life and isn't afraid of being different. She is the only character who doesn't partake of John Bender's marijuana stash. At home, Allison is a victim of child neglect, and as a result carries a large bag with her in case she feels like running away. She claims to be in therapy, but because of her compulsive lying it is unknown if her claim is true. Brian Johnson: the group's "brainiac". Brian is one of the more vulnerable characters, as well as the one who doesn't want any trouble. He tries to keep the group quiet so no one gets yelled at, but sometimes gets in the way while trying to be noticed. John points out Brian as the stereotypical "good boy," which offends Brian. He later reveals he got caught with a flare gun in his locker after it accidentally discharged. At home, Brian is pressured by his parents, in a similar than that of Andy. But Brian's case differs from Andy in the fact that he is forced to be a perfect academic. It is revealed that the flare gun was meant for a suicide attempt after failing a shop project (he claims that shop was the only class he had ever failed a project in.). Like Claire, he is sensitive about his virginity. [edit] Cast Each of the film's young stars became part of the Brat Pack (whose other members include Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, and Demi Moore), a group of actors who all hit stardom at the same time and tended to star in movies together. The teenagers in the film were played by Emilio Estevez (Andrew Clarke, the high school jock), Anthony Michael Hall (Brian Ralph Johnson, the nerd), Judd Nelson (John Bender, the rebel stoner), Molly Ringwald (Claire Standish, the rich preppie), and Ally Sheedy (Allison Reynolds, the basket case). Paul Gleason played Richard Vernon, the principal and detention supervisor, and John Kapelos played the janitor Carl. Hughes appeared in an uncredited role as Brian's father. Of the entire cast, only Hall and Ringwald were actually high school age upon the movie's release; Nelson was twenty-five while Sheedy and Estevez were both twenty-two years old. Judd Nelson’s performance was influenced by his method style technique of staying in character off set. He was accused of bullying Molly Ringwald off camera due to his insistence on remaining in character off-camera. This behavior almost made John Hughes fire Nelson, but Nelson was defended by Paul Gleason (ironically playing Nelson's on-screen nemesis). Gleason stated that Nelson was just trying to stay in character and didn't mean anything by it. [1] Ringwald and Hall dated briefly after filming ended.[2] In 2005, MTV announced that the film would be rewarded with the "Silver Bucket of Excellence Award" in honor of its twentieth Anniversary at the MTV Movie Awards. To coincide with the event, MTV attempted to reunite the original cast. Sheedy, Ringwald, and Hall appeared together on stage, with Kapelos in the audience, and Gleason personally gave the award to his former castmates. Estevez could not attend the reunion because of other commitments, and Nelson appeared earlier in the show but left before the on-stage reunion for reasons unknown. Hall joked that the two were "in Africa with Dave Chappelle." This show was taped on May 28, 2005 and aired on June 9. [edit] Cultural impact The Breakfast Club was ranked number 1 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies and has had a tremendous impact on both the teen film genre and on popular culture since the 1980s. In addition, its theme song titled "Don't You (Forget About Me)", performed by Simple Minds, reached #1 in the U.S. billboards in 1985 and has since then become a symbol of teen films, teen love and teen feelings. It has also been repeatedly used in several teen films as well as television programs. The movie can be read, and has been read, in both a liberal and a conservative way as opposed to movies like the British "If..." of 1968 and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, which clearly take the side of the rebel. Hughes in fact as part of the cultural apparatus assumes he cannot "bite the hand that feeds him" thus the incipient rebellion of the film gets into the car, a *deus machina* not a *deus ex machina*, but a useful and quiescing plot device at the end and disappears. [edit] References in the media None More Black, a now-defunct punk rock band, put out a previously unreleased song for Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 entitled "Nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy", which is a quote from Bender to Andrew. Family Guy: In the episode "Let's Go to the Hop", The scene in which Peter sees Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Trix Rabbit, Lucky the Leprechaun and Cap'n Crunch "The Breakfast Club" - is a parody of a scene from the film in which Judd Nelson's character is talking about what he got for Christmas one year. Also the ending of the episode features Peter posing in a similar manner as John Bender while Don't You (Forget About Me) plays. American Dad!: In the episode "Failure is not a Factory-installed Option", they show the reading of the letter at the end of the movie in a drive-in movie at the home scene. Chasing Amy, Dogma: In his graphic novel and then his film, respectively, Kevin Smith has the stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob attempt to visit the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois, where many of Hughes' films (including The Breakfast Club) were set, in order to deal marijuana. Multiple scenes within the graphic novel, including one set in a high school, contain some references of Hughes and Club, as does the diner scene in Dogma. Futurama: In the episode "The Luck of the Fryrish", Fry hides his lucky clover in the sleeve of The Breakfast Club soundtrack, looks at the cover and comments: "Man I can't wait till I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff". Later his older brother, Yancy, discovers the clover while looking for music to play at his wedding, claiming the soundtrack will "clear out the room at the end of the reception". At the end of the episode, the song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" begins to play after he learns the truth of his nephew. Also, the robot Bender was inspired by John Bender, as admitted by Groening himself, who stated this in the DVD audio commentary of the episode.[3] Gilmore Girls: Rory once tells her mom that Brendan Lewis "watched the Breakfast Club and decided to tape his own butt cheeks together". Go (1999 film): In the film, one of the characters asks Claire if she's a virgin, to which she replies: "What? Oh, The Breakfast Club. Funny." "'In Love With The 80's," a song by Relient K: A line in the song goes: "When you're the president of The Breakfast Club and you're not hesitant to fall in love." Grange Hill: A Saturday detention episode of the British children's drama bears a striking resemblance to scenes from the movie, even including the quip "Welcome to the Breakfast Club...!" Man Research (Clapper) by Gorillaz: The lyrics "This is the Breakfast Club" can be heard in the beginning of the song. Scrubs: In one of its episodes, Ted finally wins in an argument with Dr. Kelso and imitates the very last scene of the movie, where Bender raises his fist and walks away as "Don't You (Forget About Me)" plays in the background. The Simpsons: The phrase "Eat my shorts" is used to insult the principal in the film and has since been adopted by its cartoon character Bart Simpson. In addition, The Independent News stated that it is possible that creator Matt Groening based the character of Seymour Skinner on Principal Vernon. One Tree Hill: During episode 316, the school shooting episode, Jimmy Edwards makes reference to the movie stating "This ain’t… breakfast club! You know, we’re not all gonna… fire up a joint and be pals." The Office (US): During the episode "The Fight", Michael Scott said to Dwight Schrute, "Two hits, me hitting you and you hitting the floor." Scrubs: The look and attitude of the nameless janitor in the show bear striking resemblances to The Breakfast Club janitor, Carl." Closing comments: I didn't like this movie at all, for several reasons. One of those reasons being the fact that dramatic people are one of the worst type of people in the world next to selfish, rude, and fake people. Not only that, this film is actually similar to that teen TV show "Degrassi." If you don't know what Degrassi is, I can tell you. Degrassi is a TV show for faggot teens, and teenagers with anger or drug problems. The only good points about The Breakfast Club is the theme song at the end (dont forget about me). Other than that I just couldnt stand watching an hour of young 1980's kids arguing and insulting eachother. The entire movie was just the same old thing scene after scene. First the students get along with eachother for awhile and then they began fighting or arguing for no reason. If teens were that damn emotional and sissy like in the 1980's I dont even want to know what they are like in todays society. So my thoughts? The Breakfast Club is a stupid movie. Something you would expect from the year 2000's rather than the 1980's. - Vincent , posted 03/17/07 |
The Breakfast Club was recommended for:
- Tribe: 70's Films
- Tribe: Movie Music Lovers
- Tribe: Sacramento
- Tribe: Movie Whores
- Tribe: Looking for Someone
- Tribe: NYC people
- Tribe: Movies
- Tribe: Movies ~ SF Bay Area
- Tribe: Sacramento Valley Burners
- Tribe: Short Films
