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Sunday, March 1, 2015

Saturday. March 24th. 1984.



The Breakfast Club (1985)

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 100 million (approximately)

Characters: Claire Standish, Brian Johnson, Andrew Clarke, John Bender, Allison Reynolds, Richard Vernon, Carl Reed

Cool Stuff: Allison’s Cap’n Crunch and Pixy Stix sandwich

Cool Music: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”

Cool Quote: “Don’t mess with the bull young man, you’ll get the horns.”

When I was a senior in high school, I had to write a two-page paper about which of the five main Breakfast Club characters I most resembled. I will keep you in suspense and reveal my choice at the end of my review. They are all good/bad in their own way: Claire (the princess) is pretty but unfriendly, Brian (the brain) is nice but troubled, Andrew (the athlete) is popular but easily influenced, John (the criminal) is tough but a jerk, and Allison (the basket case) cool but a liar. Richard Vernon (the assistant principal) sees people as he wants to see them and is not a good guy. Carl (the janitor) is the eyes and ears of the school and is a good guy.

The coolest parts of the movie are the dialogue, so I had a little trouble choosing the coolest thing ... until I realized the obvious choice was Allison’s Cap’n Crunch and Pixy Stix sandwich. I have to admit I have never tried it, but I will one of these days. The movie has one of the most memorable end scenes (Bender’s fist in the air) and is accompanied by one of the most iconic ’80s songs “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. Coolest quote was tough: “Uh, what ruckus? ... Could you describe the ruckus, sir?” is funny; “When you grow up, your heart dies,” is sad; Bender’s joke about a naked blonde, a poodle, and a salami could have been a classic if it had a punchline. Dick’s “Don’t mess with the bull young man; you’ll get the horns,” is the clear winner.

The movie tackles many issues: alcohol, bullying, drugs, fashion, money, parents, sex, and suicide. The biggest question, which is never answered, is do they remain friends/lovers on Monday morning? (I say yes, initially, but after a while they will revert back to their own ways.) I always felt bad for Brian: everyone else got the girl/guy.... He got to write the paper.

Speaking of papers ... I wrote a ten-page paper explaining how I resembled all five characters. Pretty sure that blew my English teacher’s mind.

Next movie to review: The Goonies

1 comment:

  1. So ever since you posted this blog, I've seen three or four articles about the Breakfast Club. Where are they now, things you didn't know, behind the scenes, stuff like that. Which makes me think that the Internets has been reading Salty Chewbacca.

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