By Arden Berry | Arts & Life Editor
For Arts & Life Reviews this week, we received a classic recommendation: “The Breakfast Club.”
It’s a quintessential John Hughes film from 1985 and was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2016, so it seemed an appropriate watch over 40 years later.
The movie opens with the classic “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds alongside the opening credits listed in big gold letters over a dark background. Following this introduction, a montage of various areas in the school sets the scene.
The theme of stereotypes is clear from the way the characters’ roles are introduced before we even know their names. Brian Johnson is a brain, Andy Clark is an athlete, Allison Reynolds is a basket case, Claire Standish is a princess and John Bender is a criminal. We learn more about each character from the way they get dropped off for Saturday detention, their initial dialogue (or, in Allison’s case, lack thereof) and their actions throughout.
Because they fit such different roles, the characters clash. Bender antagonizes Claire because of her high status, Andy’s adversarial nature leads to him taking Bender on, the group mostly ignores Brian or puts him down and Allison sits in the back corner making strange sounds and motions.
Despite their interpersonal conflict, the group bands together when it comes to the man holding them there: Mr. Vernon. The group defends Bender each time Mr. Vernon tries to catch him in the act.
The film is campy but iconic, filled with classic montages, silly scenes and a whole lot of yelling. The best parts of the movie come when the yelling stops and the characters are just absorbed in their own worlds. For example, at lunch time, Claire takes out her fancy sushi, Andy methodically pulls out his comically repetitive lunch and Allison is slinging food and putting Pixie Stix powder on a sandwich. And the montages are classic, especially the dance scene to “We Are Not Alone” by Karla DeVito.
The movie takes you back to a different time, and I don’t just mean the ‘80s. It’s high school. All the pressure on these teenagers from their parents, teachers and peers. It’s claustrophobic, hormonal and everything is life or death.
But the real emotional core of the movie is its characters. This is especially apparent as the pieces start to click together throughout the movie, as we discover why the characters are the way they are and why they are in detention in the first place.
Allison is a “basket case” because her parents ignore her and she longs for attention. Claire is a pawn in her parents’ adversarial relationship and subject to peer pressure. Andy wants to impress his father but loses his own moral code and personhood in doing so. Brian’s self-worth is reliant upon his grades, and his parents place pressure on him to succeed. Bender is erratic, but he’s mainly a teenager completely messed up by his abusive father, and he’s not receiving proper support from school administrators.
The acting in the film is great, especially when coupled with the camerawork. The close focus on the character’s faces while they yell, laugh or cry draws the viewer in and makes them want to understand who the characters are.
Of course, the movie has its flaws. Bender creeped me out from the get-go, especially when it came to Claire. He walks in not even knowing her name and is already hitting on her doggedly, and the scene where he’s under the desk is especially unsettling. That sort of harassment is not the type you want to encourage with a happy ending. Additionally, Claire didn’t have to tell the group anything, and the general obsession with her private life felt uncomfortable.
In summary, the movie is a classic for a reason. You go in seeing these characters for who they have been labeled as, but you keep watching to see what is below the surface, and you are rewarded for your time with heartwarming character development. For college students months or years out from graduating high school, it’s also a reminder of the world we left behind. Despite some uncomfortable scenes, “The Breakfast Club” is worth the watch.
