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“The Breakfast Club”, the first time I saw this title I thought the movie must be about British toffs and their sugar coated lifestyle, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, as it turns out to be a classic American high school movie which was released in 1985 and was directed by John Hughes, who is known for directing movies of this genre.
Breakfast Club brings together five students belonging to five different stereotypes for a day of detention in the school library. The movie showcases how these five individuals, who under normal circumstances would never have come in contact, bond with each other reveal their secrets and come to an understanding that no one has a life without problems no matter how happy or sad they are on the outside. The movie encompasses all the feelings and emotions a teenage kid has and goes through. Near the end it feels that the director has targeted the parents for pressurising their children into becoming someone they are not.
One thing that I did notice in this film and couple of other films of that period was that even in 1980s the Afro-Americans were still living in the shadows as there is no black actor in this movie and others I saw.
The cast is not a very popular one with Paul Gleason being the only famous actor and even he didn’t have a very prominent role playing the Disciplinary Principle. The role of the kids were played by Molly Ringwald (as Claire Standish, prom queen), Judd Nelson (as John Bender, punk), Emilio Estevez (as Andrew Clark, sport), Anthony M. Hall (as Brian Johnson, nerd), Ally Sheedy(as Allison Reynolds, loner).
Teenage movie fans may remember Molly Ringwald from her role as Samantha Baker in “Sixteen Candles” another of John Hughes films. There have been critics who say that Judd Nelson played the bad boy role a little politely, but I think he did just fine and I think it is better to keep it low rather than overdoing it. Those of you who have followed the famous sitcom “Two And A Half Men “ may find it interesting to know that Emilio Estevez is Charlie Sheen’s(Sheen is a stage name initially adopted by their father) elder brother . Anthony Hall is also known for his role in “Sixteen Candles” alongside Molly Ringwald. Ally Sheedy has starred in “St. Elmo’s Fire” along with Emilio and Judd.
