It was the movie of the day when I was coming of age. I wasn't a Molly Ringwald fan but did think Ally Sheedy was a great actor. Everyone my age at the time was all about Molly (and then all about a different kind of Molly 20 years later...), but the movie was a fad frenzy that I never saw until it came out on VHS (I grew up on a ranch). I was in 5th grade in 1985 when it originally came out. The local video rental place in town finally got the tape a few years later.
When I watched it, I identified halfway between the nerd (Anthony Michael Hall) and the social reject (Judd Nelson). I had the brain and the bad home, so I didn't exactly fit neatly into John Hugh's little compartments.
I still don't at 52 and it shows.
But I'm sure plenty of people from younger generations have seen the movie. Maybe they were forced to watch it via parents reminiscing about the "great 80's", or stayed in some hotel where they had cable and it was the only thing to watch besides Supermarket Sweep, or -- just said "hell with it" and streamed the damn thing.
So please, I'm looking for more than opinions (or God forbid, political BS) -- I want perspective. I want your thoughts and emotions and I'll go first:
I really thought it sucked that the "nerd" left alone. Everyone left with a soulmate but him. I also thought the movie completely avoided the whole rumor mill of "Brian's dad is the JANITOR!!!". Coming from a bad home, I really never wanted to introduce "badness" into anyone's home. I wanted an escape from my own home, albeit not with Molly. The whole weed thing -- actually -- was probably one of the most honest takes on the film.
That's my take. What's yours? And thank you!
Mainly only if you're into film as a hobby. Don't get me wrong, the stuff others have said about the story itself make it a good watch overall.
But it's no better in that regard than any other teen drama movie.
It's the way it was done that really makes it significant, imo.
Hughes had this really distinct visual style. Bright, vibrant, and kinda larger than life. He used it to take a look at slices of life that were, in the breakfast club, angsty as fuck. Most scenes are vivid, and the drama plays out in that almost candy coated world.
Since the cast was perfect for their roles, something else Hughes was great at imo, they managed to each fulfill their stereotype in a way that pops out of the screen. The very artificialiality of the cinematography and the almost cheesy costuming allows you to skip past a lot of immersion barriers and just enjoy the characters and dialogue.
Hughes was really good at that balance. The Breakfast Club is the best example of his vision. And, because it influenced so many other filmmakers and the industry, it's an important one to watch from that perspective, even if it isn't really going to resonate as well with someone born much later. Not that it can't, or won't at all, just that the entirety of teen living shifted post internet, and much of the gen Y range falls into that era.
So, yeah, if you're into film as a hobby or more serious interest, you need to see it, and Ferris Bueler. Maybe throw in uncle buck as well as planes, trains and automobiles. Those two are kind of inverse because they're built as comedies first, and that makes the vibe of the drama in them work different than his drama first movies (though Bueler may be debated about which it actually was as a base)