Arguably the best teen movie ever, John Hughes’s 1985 film has a seriousness that belies his other work; at the time of release, some critics unfamiliar with his other world referenced Ingmar Bergman for the wintry eye that Hughes keeps on his five protagonists. Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall were never better than their performances here are the five teenagers who face detection in an Illinois high-school. Tightly edited by the late Dede Allen, The Breakfast Club has become an iconic pop-culture classic, with endlessly quotable lines from Nelson’s John Bender in particular. As he rips pages from library books and generally harasses the other kids, Hughes manages to capture the nature of bullying, and also, in a revelatory fashion, allows us to sympathise with the bully. The Breakfast Club extends its sympathy to young people everywhere; when you grow up, one character notes, your heart dies. Hughes’ film keeps that heartbeat racing for kids of all ages.
Iconic is definitely the word. The ability to empathise with each character, and find out the problems that they and others around us suffer with, is what really makes it.
Just want to mention that Ally Sheedy’s character throws the cold cut in order to make here sugar and cereal sandwich.
You are correct! I will adjust this copy today! Thanks for reading, and for the correction!