Breakfast Club Film Review
Five disparate high school students, Allison Reynolds, a weirdo; Brian Johnson, a nerd; John Bender, a criminal; Claire Standish, a prom queen; and Andy Clark, a jock, are forced to spend the day in Saturday detention. Having absolutely nothing in common, except for having to give up their day, they sit in the school library, and write an essay for a teacher, Richard Vernon. Being from such widely different backgrounds and having such completely different personalities, it's inevitable that some frictions and shenanigans develop, especially when Vernon leaves the room. Each begins to see the others apart from their stereotypes. Each finds qualities about the others that make the Saturday morning change their lives. In the 1980s, Hughes was responsible for writing and directing some of the funniest (National Lampoon's Vacation) movies of the era as well as some of the most perceptive ones about young people (Some Kind Of Wonderful). One that combined the humor and the perception was his 1985 smash The Breakfast Club. I
What makes it transcend the genre so well is its accurate depiction of high school society. Never mind that the film was made in 1985, the depiction of the class system in high school (Jock, Preppie, Outcast, Thug, Geek) is still relevant today. Yet this is not just a movie for teenagers. The performances are all good: from Judd Nelson as the Thug to Molly Ringwald as the Preppie. You also have Emilio Estevez as the Jock, Anthony Michael Hall as the geek and Ally Sheedy as the Outcast. The only actor who really goes over the top is Paul Gleason as the teacher who has been assigned to watch over these kids on their daylong Saturday detention. When he starts seriously pouring on the insults and claiming that he's doing society a favor, that's the only time when the movie comes dangerously close to going off the track of believability. While yes there are sadistic teachers out there, one that is the sadistic would not be teaching for very long. You half expect Gleason to start yelling "King Kong ain't got nothing on me!"
Some common words found in the essay are:
Breakfast Club, Paul Gleason, John Bender, Reagan President, Richard Vernon, Andy Clark, King Kong, Lampoon's Vacation, John Hughes', Brat Pack, breakfast club, paul gleason, pack movies, '80s teen, teen movie, brat pack, '80s teen movie, brat pack movies, friends usual, john bender,
Approximate Word count = 700
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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