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Year:    1985
Studio:  Unversal Pictures
Feature: 4/5
DVD:     1/5

I first watched The Breakfast Club in college. Actually most of these mid-80's teen movies I watched in college in 1989-1990 for the first time. I wasn't much into going out to the movies back then and it took years for a movie to make it's way to broadcast television.

Anyway, this is a drama about five high school students who spend a Saturday in detention in the school library. They start out as stereotypes: the smart kid (Anthony Michael Hall), the jock (Emilio Estevez), the weird girl (Ally Sheedy), the beauty queen (Molly Ringwald), and the bad boy (Judd Nelson).

But spending a few hours together with a somewhat verbally abusive teacher watching over them helps to bring them closer. They talk and learn that they have a lot of similarities. Sure, they may not end up friends outside of detention, but for a few hours that Saturday they bond.

It's a movie about revealing yourself, your thoughts and feelings and finding out that other people have those same thoughts and feelings and dreams and frustrations. It's an engaging movie and I think is fairly accurate in depicting some of the teenage life and mentality. Personally it takes me back to high school, though admittedly my high school experience is totally different than the movies.
Once again the DVD is lacking in extras. There is an essay about the movie and its themes and significance. There are bios for each of the five main actors. And that's it. But that's besides the point. This is a classic 80's movie and it's a good movie too.

It has also a great opening song, Simple Minds' "Don't You". Which reminds me that this movie has one of the more unique closing credits sequence. It's Judd Nelson walking through the football stadium with his fist in the air. But it's all blackened out in shadows. The credits roll up and you only see them for about 1/2 the screen as they scroll over the sunset sky. Makes it hard to catch the credits.

Copyright (c) 2005 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: February 14, 2005 Page Last Updated: February 14, 2005