Brat Pack Week- The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club came out in 1985. It was written and directed by John Hughes. The story follows five teenagers (each a member of a different high school clique) as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes. The king daddy of all brat pack movies, The Breakfast Club, is today’s spot light in Brat Pack Week.
Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), John Bender (Judd Nelson), Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), and Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) all had nothing in common at first except they suffered Detention on a Saturday. They were ordered not to speak or move from their seats by the principal, Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) from 7:06 A.M. to 4 P.M. He assigned a 1,000 word essay (in which each student must write about who he or she thinks they are) and then leaves them mostly unsupervised, returning only occasionally to check on them.
Gradually they open up to each other and reveal their inner secrets. Allison is a compulsive liar, Bender comes from an abusive household and Brian and Claire are ashamed of their virginity. They also discover that they all have strained relationships with their parents and are afraid of making the same mistakes as the adults around them.
Brian is asked to write the essay Mr. Vernon assigned earlier and here’s what they came up with:
Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong…but we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us… In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain…
Andrew Clark: …and an athlete…
Allison Reynolds: …and a basket case…
Claire Standish: …a princess…
John Bender: …and a criminal…
Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.
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