I'm getting to the stage with these film reviews where I have watched enough crap and I just want to sit down and watch films I know I love. Even if that means that I am stretching my own artificial, not enforced rules on the themes the films have to fit within. I am willing to do that. And besides, 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) has characters locked in a school and they're not allowed to leave. Does that sound like lockdown to you? Because it definitely does to me. It has been a good while since I have watched this film and I was curious to see if I would enjoy it as much as I used to. The answer? Yes, yes I did. The film follows a group of High School students who are all spending their saturday stuck in detention. The five couldn't be anymore different. There's the popular girl, the jock, the nerd, the weirdo and the bad boy. They all think they have each other figured out, but throughout the experiences of the day find that they may have a lot more in common under the surface then they originally thought.
There is one thing I want to get out of the way first. Watching this film through modern eyes there are definitely some aspects that have not aged well, mainly in its gender politics. It is pretty flippant in dealing with sexual harassment, with the harasser being rewarded and not facing consequence in the end. This is a problem that is prevalent in a lot of 80s teen comedies, and this film is no different. The fact I love this film doesn't mean that I can't see that these scenes are problematic. Despite these moments this film remains a lot of fun. It is a film whose strength lies in its screenplay, but it is technically very proficient as well. It is shot and edited well, especially in its most 80s moments of montage to pop songs. But it is not the technical side of this film that has allowed it to endure as a classic 35 years after its initial release. It is the relationships between our 5 main characters that makes this film as enjoyable as it is. The audience, like the characters, feel like we have all of them worked out from the off and so we learn more about them as the rest of the characters do. Watching this unfurl is engrossing and emotional as we find out some of the reasons these people are like they are. This culminates in the best scene of the film where the five characters sit in a circle and just talk. It is a sequence which sees the group go through the whole range of emotions, from laughter to anger to tears and back to laughter again. It is a brilliantly written scene that allows for all 5 actors to show their talents and is easily the best scene of the film.
Speaking of the actors being allowed to show their talents, every single one puts in a stellar performance. All are given opportunities to show a range of emotions as well as play up the stereotypes you expect from the characters upon first seeing them and all do very well. Emilio Estevez is very good as Andrew Clark, the jock. He plays the jock well, but is very good later in the film when his character is need to show his softer side. Ally Sheedy is similarly very good as the weirdo, Allison Reynolds. Her performance is massively memorable for just how odd it is, with even her line delivery being something that sticks in your mind. Anthony Michael Hall is also great as the nerdy Brian Johnson. He is fantastically timid but shows real fire as well when he is pushed too far. Molly Ringwald puts in a classic performance as Claire Standish. She was the queen of the 80's teen movie and performances like this one show why. The most memorable and I think best performance in the film comes from Judd Nelson as John Bender. He puts in a really compelling performance, managing to come across as a complete arsehole and a bully at the start of the film, but getting across that he is really much more than that. There are a couple of scenes where the character shows vulnerability and Judd Nelson is brilliant in these moments. All 5 also have superb chemistry which adds so much to all the performances.
'The Breakfast Club' is film I will always come back to. It is a film that is really fun but also is full of emotional moments that hit you right in the feels. It is a well made film but one which is strongest in its screenplay and its performances. It has moments that have definitely not aged well and are quite problematic, but I still find myself really enjoying it. I will always recommend this film. It is a classic not just in the teen genre, but in film in general. As long as you go in knowing that this is a film is of its time and therefore has not aged all that well there is still a lot here for you to enjoy.