THE BREAKFAST CLUB 1985 CAST MOVIE
The movie that’s long been celebrated as one of the seminal examinations of the trials, tribulations and joys of Generation X was directed by a baby boomer, Hughes, who based it on his observations of his neighbors’ teenage children in the early 1970s, according to David Kamp’s excellent March 2010 article on Hughes in Vanity Fair. That brings home one of the odd ironies about The Breakfast Club. Ringwald has morphed from waifish ingenue to mother of three and self-help book author (her recent book, Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family and Finding the Perfect Lipstick, is about self-actualization after 40). Those formerly fresh-faced Brat Pack actors are all in midlife now-Nelson, the oldest, is 51, and sporting what appear to be reading glasses in the group photo. How unsettling it was, then, to see this Wall Street Journal article about a recent Film Society of Lincoln Center event, at which cast members Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald (Emilio Estevez didn't show) reunited for a panel discussion to honor the movie's 25th anniversary. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Shining, Star Wars and Jaws.It seems like yesterday when I dabbed a little mousse into my mullet, slipped on a pair of parachute pants and strolled down to the local movie theater to see The Breakfast Club, director John Hughes’ 1985 ode to teenage angst and alienation.
One year after the dramedy celebrated its 30th anniversary, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, joining the likes of game-changers including Titanic, Toy Story, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, Schindler’s List, A League of Their Own, Goodfellas, Top Gun, Purple Rain, E.T. The movie reunited Hall and Ringwald, who previously starred in Hughes’ 1984 classic Sixteen Candles.Īlthough The Breakfast Club was not nominated for any major awards at the time, it is widely regarded as one of the most iconic films in history. In the end, they submit a single essay to the assistant principal, signed, “Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.”
Over the course of the 97-minute film, Brian, Andrew, Allison, Claire and John bicker, share their darkest secrets, smoke a little marijuana and ultimately become unlikely friends. Their tyrannical assistant principal, Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), assigns each member of the group to write a 1,000-word essay describing “who you think you are.” He also instructs the students not to speak, leave their seats or sleep until they are released - all while regularly checking in on them. The movie centers on Brian Johnson (Hall), Andrew Clark (Estevez), Allison Reynolds (Sheedy), Claire Standish (Ringwald) and John Bender (Nelson) as they gather in the library of the fictional Shermer High School to serve detention from 7 a.m. The success of The Breakfast Club helped make stars out of the so-called Brat Pack - Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson - and critics consider the teen drama to be one of director John Hughes’ best.
In 1985, the world was introduced to five teenagers with very different backgrounds who found themselves spending nine hours on a Saturday in detention. It all started with a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal.