Ultimate 80s Blogathon Kickoff: The Breakfast Club (1985)

Let’s Kickoff the Ultimate 80s Blogathon!

Are you ready for close to a month dedicated to the awesome 1980s movies? I know I am! I’m doing the honors of kicking off with my first review for the Ultimate 80s Blogathon.  Drew over at Drew’s Movie Reviews has full credit for this idea and he has let me join forces with him to bring you this lovely blogathon.  Thanks so much to all those that sent us their reviews! I think its safe to say for both of us that you’ve blown us away with the reviews we have received.  I’m not giving anything else away but the Ultimate 80s choice has varied quite a bit and there were some surprises and some that I’ve never even seen or heard of.  You are in for some awesome fun! Remember to drop by and check it out.  You can find all the reviews updated daily on the menu bar up top dedicated to Ultimate 80s Blogathon.

Without further ado, let’s get my review of the 1980s teen drama/comedy The Breakfast Club! 🙂

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Director: John Hughes

Cast: Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Paul Gleason, John Kapelos

Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought. –IMDB

1980s was kind of like the playground of John Hughes.  He had so many great teen comedies/dramas from Sixteen Candles to Pretty in Pink and then some even Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I love teen comedies.  1980s and John Hughes was always inspiring and fun to watch.  The Breakfast Club is one that is no doubt timeless.  The style and the music is one of the 80s and embodies that decade but the story itself transcends into even modern day.  I was in high school in the late 90s- early 2000s. Every high school has a brain, an athlete, a princess, a basketcase and a criminal. Everyone else knew their stereotypes and their groups and they had their images of how others saw them including the teachers themselves.  This is why The Breakfast Club resounds so much.  It reminds us that what has changed us is that as we grow up, we change and grown ups forget how they feel when they get older and see the world more realistically and experience even more.

The Breakfast Club also handles its characters particularly well.  We have five characters here as they are trapped in Saturday detention.  While it feels like Judd Nelson’s John Bender has a bigger role because he is the one that revels the most in the story and really stirs things up for everyone right from the beginning, the other characters all have their spotlight.  Through their conversations and gang-ups between the five through their day, their answers and reactions allow us to see what each of these characters really are about.  The lesson here is that while they are viewed in a certain way, and that was how they saw each other in their own little click they usually are with when they first entered detention, The Breakfast Club is more of a statement of how everyone has these notions to a certain degree: elements of each other in them and its only by taking the time to know someone better than you can see that and not their outer appearances. Whether its the geek Brian, princess Claire, basketcase Allison, athlete Andrew or criminal John, they all are strange and different but also the same in their own ways.  They see life in the same light and they each get affected by certain things in their life the same way as the others. We even get a feeling of their relationships with the family and what bothers them and most of all, what makes each of these characters the way they are. Maybe its because we have a little bit of each of them in us naturally that its easier to relate to the Breakfast Club crew.

Another great part of The Breakfast Club has to go to the wonderful soundtrack.  It truly embodies the 1980s tunes, especially one of the ending parts when Claire transforms Allison and she walks out and Andrew sees her, mesmerized by the change.  That music reminds of that time so much and the awesomeness of the music then.  Even though I was born in mid-80s, it still feel like something we can relate to.  It helps strengthen The Breakfast Club and the mood that it wants us to have as we watch it.  The dialogue itself is great as well.  Its incredibly quotable for one even if some of the terms are very much in the 80s and I don’t think when I went to school, I ever used.  The Breakfast Club takes these elements and matches them up perfectly with the characters creating a balance that shows a story that is warm and fun at times and at other times, tugs at our heartstrings a little also.

Overall, The Breakfast Club defines the 1980s in the way of music and the style but is also a great 80s movie because the message and story is not restricted just that decade, it can still be related to in modern day high school.  It uses a great balance of letting us connect with each of the five characters and gives us time to understand them properly and not get caught up in the stereotypes that they were given when the movie started.  We learn about them just as much as they learn about each other and themselves and realize that they actually feel very similar on some issues and actually have a bit of each other even if they don’t realize it. The Breakfast Club is a teen experience that is well worth a watch.

Have you seen The Breakfast Club? Do you think that this is a staple 1980s movie? Are you a John Hughes fan?

***Keep your eyes peeled! Drew will have his review to kickoff this blogathon today also!***