The Breakfast Club
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What is "The Breakfast Club"?
The Breakfast Club, a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, was written and directed by John Hughes. The film is about five high school students who seemingly have nothing in common and are forced to spend all day in detention together in their school library. Each of the students represents a common teenage archetype: a jock, a brain, a beauty, a rebel, and a recluse. The Breakfast Club is considered by many to be one of the finest movies about American high-school life ever made and a seminal film of the 1980s. The film helped launch the careers of its young cast, who were members of "the Brat Pack".
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Who directed and wrote "The Breakfast Club"?
The Breakfast Club, a coming-of-age comedy-drama released in 1985, was both written and directed by John Hughes. The film, set in a high school library, revolves around five students who initially appear to have nothing in common but form unlikely friendships after spending a day in detention together. It is considered a seminal movie of the 1980s and one of the finest portrayals of American high school life. The film helped launch the careers of its young cast, who became known as the "Brat Pack".
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What is the main setting of the movie?
The Breakfast Club, a 1985 film, is mainly set at Shermer High School in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois. The movie's plot unfolds on Saturday, March 24, 1984, where five high school students from different walks of life endure a nine-hour detention. The students, a jock, a brain, a beauty, a rebel, and a recluse, are confined to the school library under the supervision of Assistant Principal Vernon. The film explores their initial hostility, eventual bonding, and shared vulnerabilities, leading to unlikely friendships and changed perspectives by the day's end.
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Who are the main characters and what different high school groups do they represent?
The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes, features five high school students who represent common teenage stereotypes. Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez) is the athlete, Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) is the brain, Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) is the beauty, John Bender (Judd Nelson) is the criminal, and Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) is the recluse. During Saturday detention, they break down stereotypes, forming friendships and changing perspectives. The film is considered a seminal movie about high school life.
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What challenges do the characters face during their detention?
In The Breakfast Club, five students from different high school cliques endure a Saturday detention, overseen by an authoritarian assistant principal, Mr. Vernon. Initially hostile, they face the challenge of overcoming their stereotypes and prejudices.
As they share personal stories and vulnerabilities, they begin to develop a sense of solidarity. Bender's defiance of Vernon's bullying unites them further. The group confronts the challenge of writing an essay about "who you think you are," leading to a collective realization that they are more than their superficial labels. By the end of the detention, unlikely friendships form, and they leave with changed attitudes.
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How does the movie explore the theme of understanding and accepting differences among people?
The Breakfast Club explores understanding and accepting differences through five high school students from different cliques common teenage archetype: a jock, a brain, a beauty, a rebel, and a recluse.
During detention, they initially show hostility but gradually share personal stories and vulnerabilities. They realize they are more alike than they thought and form unlikely friendships, changing their attitudes and perspectives. The film argues against convenient definitions and advocates for recognizing the multifaceted nature of individuals, as they come to understand that each of them encompasses aspects of different stereotypes.
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The Breakfast Club, American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, released in 1985, that was written and directed by John Hughes. The movie centers on five high-school students, seemingly with nothing in common, who are forced to spend an all-day detention together in their school library. The Breakfast Club is considered by many to be one of the finest movies about American high-school life ever made and a seminal film of the 1980s.
Summary
The movieās action takes place on Saturday March 24, 1984, at Shermer High School in fictional Shermer, Illinois. Assigned to detention for various reasons that are revealed during the course of the film, each of the students represents a common teenage archetype: a jock, Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez); a brain, Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall); a beauty, Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald); a rebel, John Bender (Judd Nelson); and a recluse, Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). During their nine-hour stint in detentionāoverseen by authoritarian Assistant Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason)āthey are instructed to sit quietly and write a 1,000-word essay on the subject of āwho you think you are.ā The students are initially hostile and antagonistic toward each other but begin to develop a sense of solidarity, particularly after Bender takes a stand against Vernonās bullying. The group eventually opens up to each otherāsharing personal stories, dancing, surreptitiously roaming the school, and revealing vulnerabilities. In the process, they discover that they have more in common than they initially thought. By the end of detention, the five have formed unlikely friendships, and they leave with changed attitudes and perspectives.
The film closes with Brian, heard in voice-over, reading a letter he wrote on behalf of them all in lieu of their essays:
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Dear Mr. Vernonā¦: We think youāre crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are.ā¦You see us as you want to see usā¦in the simplest terms, with the most convenient definitions.ā¦But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club
As the voice-over ends, the film presents its most iconic scene, a view of Bender walking away from the school with his fist raised in triumph while the song āDonāt You (Forget About Me)ā by Scottish rock band Simple Minds blares. The songāwritten for the movieābecame a 1980s teen anthem.
Reception and legacy
- Emilio Estevez (Andrew Clark)
- Judd Nelson (John Bender)
- Molly Ringwald (Claire Standish)
- Ally Sheedy (Allison Reynolds)
- Anthony Michael Hall (Brian Johnson)
- Paul Gleason (Richard Vernon)
- John Kapelos (Carl)
The Breakfast Club is the second film in Hughesās āteen trilogy,ā appearing between Sixteen Candles (1984) and Ferris Buellerās Day Off (1986). With its vivid and empathetic portrayal of American teenagers, the film established Hughes as the bard of American youth. The movie also helped launch the careers of its young cast, all of whom were members of āthe Brat Pack,ā the moniker given to a group of up-and-coming actors by writer David Blum in a June 1985 New York magazine article.
- Studios: Universal Pictures, A&M Films, and Channel Productions
- Director: John Hughes
- Writer: John Hughes
- Music: Keith Forsey
- Running time: 97 minutes
Over the years, the film has received several accolades. In 2016 the National Film Preservation Boardāan organization that works to ensure the survival, conservation, and public availability of culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant American filmsāinducted The Breakfast Club into the U.S. Library of Congressās National Film Registry. The Criterion Collection film series, which is dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world, released a special edition of the film in two-disc DVD and one-disc Blu-ray formats in 2018.
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