A group of disparate students who have nothing in common, meet up in school for a Saturday morning detention. They all belong to different social cliques - Claire is a spoilt princess, John is a law breaker, anti authority type, Andrew is a jock, Allison is a headcase and Brian is a brainy nerd. The Assistant Principal assigns them a 1000 word essay on who they are and tells them not to move out of their seats for nearly nine hours. Of course this wouldn't make for very interesting viewing. So a little arguing, dope smoking and dancing are thrown into the mix. The students open up to each other and talk about their lives and their fears. They all have dysfunctional relationships with their parents and the adults around them and they are frightened of repeating the same mistakes. Now that they have bonded, they worry that they will all go back to their cliques and never speak again. They get Brian to write an essay to challenge the Assistant Principal's view of them, saying that they cannot be stereotyped as he thinks they can. He signs it The Breakfast Club. John Hughes wrote and directed this piece of teenage angst and bonding. It is a lot of fun, and while the kids are stereotypes, Hughes uses these stereotypes to make a statement about young people's alienation from 'grown ups', plus you will probably identify with one of the characters from your time in school. The characterisation in the film is flawless. Each character is carefully crafted to be more than just what other people view them to be. They reveal hidden depths, inner pain and isolation. These are all universal emotions, no matter what age you are. John Hughes understands the teenage mind and never patronises his characters. Plus at their core, they are all likeable beings. This is thanks to the wonderful performances of our Brat Pack friends - Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall. They have terrific chemistry as an ensemble cast and their performances shine brightly.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
