The Breakfast Club

This blog entry about the movie THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) is the third of four entries discussing movies about school, teachers, and education.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB is a comedy-drama film that showcases high school very well. The writer, producer, and director John Hughes chooses to focus on one non-school day with five students in a confined space: Saturday detention in the school library. The audience does not see regular school days and students sitting inside classrooms. Instead the focus is on how five students are affected by the high school experience.

The story takes place at fictional Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois, which is supposed to be a suburb of Chicago. The suburban setting is apparent, as the cast is not racially diverse. It would be interesting to watch how the Saturday detention experience could differ in an urban setting or if Hughes had created one or two characters of color out of the five.

The five characters are Brian Johnson, the brain (Anthony Michael Hall); Allison Reynolds, the basket case (Ally Sheedy); John Bender, the criminal (Judd Nelson); Claire Standish, the princess (Molly Ringwald); and Andrew Clark, the athlete (Emilio Estevez). The character development is exemplary. Hughes does not stop at the stereotypes; he provides depth to each character.

The enduring themes of peer pressure and parent pressure are revealed as what the five characters have in common. On the surface they all seem so different, but it turns out teen angst does not discriminate. Today teenagers still struggle with these same concerns. Therefore, for many years teenagers will relate to THE BREAKFAST CLUB. They will even associate the displeasure of being disciplined by a school administrator like Assistant Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason) with their own experiences.

Consequently, the relatable themes are what make THE BREAKFAST CLUB the ultimate high school movie for its audience. Teenagers connect. School faculty and staff are made aware of what students are managing in addition to their studies and why they behave the way they do. Moreover, parents are given a realistic perspective of their teen’s life and admit to a keen understanding.