The Breakfast Club by John Hughes

The Breakfast Club by John Hughes
Teen Coming-of-Age Comedy-Drama Film
Universal Pictures, 1985
97 min
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: Five teens from completely different social circles unite after spending all-day school detention on Saturday.

Plot Summary: The story follows five teenagers who must serve Saturday detention from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the school campus in the library. And though these teens know each other, they are all from completely different social circles. There's the jock, the nerd, the punk, the princess, and the kook. Mr. Vernon, the fascist principal, supervises these students from his office. These five teens pass the time by in a variety of ways: humming, annoying questions, pure silence, lunch, etc. It seems impossible for these five completely different teens to even get along. However, as the day progresses, each one eventually bears their soul to the group. Each one also shows a secret talent. Together, they are also able to write the essay assigned by the principal. Each one gets to really know each other and they become good friends for that moment in time, erasing all the individual stereotypes possessed, and leave as the breakfast club.

Critical Evaluation: Ok, so this movie is rated R and there's mentions of sex, drug use, and real life conflict. But it's still definitely aimed towards teens. Every teen should watch this. All the stereotypes may seem cliche from the amount of teen movies out there, but they all exist. It's not so much that the audience can relate to at least one character (which they can!) but really how everyone in that room is going through the same thing; conflict with parents, identity crisis, and the future. Each one deals with it in a different way. It's that big picture that teens can relate to. It's also humorous how these five individuals deal with their problems together. It is also quite sad at times, such as the punk's back story and why he is the way he is. You really get to know each of these characters because it is dialogue heavy as there is hardly any action. The scenes are long and each one reveals something new in the characters. Thus, it's character driven, not plot driven and this is refreshing for any film, let alone a teen film.

Author: John Hughes is a screenwriter, director, and 1980s icon who wrote many successful teen-related films such as Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone, and others. He was born on February 18, 1950. Hughes liked to write jokes and had a few writing jobs after he dropped out of Arizona State University. But he got his big break through National Lampoon Magazine where he became noticed for his teen story lines and dialogue.

However, his first screenplay, Class Reunion, was a disaster but his next one, National Lampoon's Vaction, was a major hit. This led to a long, productive string of hit films that eventually led him to directing for a few years in the mid-to-late 1980s and early '90s. By the 1990s, Hughes still wrote but burnout seemed to be entering along with the fact that the movies became more children-oriented. Hughes was still writing films like Drillbit Tailor till his unfortunate death due to a heart attack on August 6, 2009; he was 59 years old.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Coming of age
2) Sex
3) Drugs
4) Future
5) Conflicting Homelife

Challenge Issues: There are challenge issues present in this film such as drug use, mentions of sex, conflict at home, and school stereotypes.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: This film is one of the best teen-genre films ever. I love the fact that there is no action and the whole film is practically dialogue. That dialogue reveals so much in the characters that I find myself connecting with each ones in different ways.