Director: John Huges
Starring: Anthony Michael Hall
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio:   Release date: 1985   Rated: R
Language (Country): ( USA )
Summary: Has it really been over eighteen years since The Breakfast Club was first released to theaters? Shocking. As one of the most defining movies for an entire generation, John Hughes's highly revered 1985 movie about five students, a library, and a full Saturday's worth of detention is pretty much critic-proof. I mean sure, you could take the time to field-strip the movie to such meticulous perfection that its faults lie exposed and vulnerable for the entire universe to observe, but why bother? The Breakfast Club is just one of those movies that endures despite whatever criticism you can conjure up against it. It's the Ronald Reagan of films, a Teflon-coated piece of celluloid which has a strength and a perseverance that defies adversity.

Then again, the movie has pretty much earned its stripes as a classic of its genre. The Breakfast Club has everything a great movie requires: endearing characters, fine performances, a great script, memorable lines etched into public consciousness, and a startling relevance that outlives its era. The five kids are archetypes found in every high school known to man or God: the jock, the pampered princess, the reticent nerd, the brash hoodlum, and the inexplicable weirdo. Clichés? Without a doubt, but since clichés always discover their progenitors in the realm of truth we as the audience immediately identify with them. We know exactly who these people are, but The Breakfast Club isn't as much interested in "who they are" as much as "why are they that way".

The "why" is exquisitely handled by Hughes's refreshingly honest screenplay and by the brazen performances of the cast. Judd Nelson pretty much owned the character of Bender, the "criminal" of the group. As written in the script, Bender is the fulcrum upon which the movie hinges. His provocative manner, acerbic witticisms, and anarchic aggression work both to belittle his companions and break them down to the barest essentials. What Nelson does with the character is fairly extraordinary. He injects Bender with startlingly realistic vivacity and intensity, but the character never seems too satisfied with himself; he dominates the film, always gaining the moral high ground in every argument, but never with an air of superiority or smug self-satisfaction.

Anthony Michael Hall is almost dead-on perfect as Brian, the "geek" of the group. His performance is so wonderfully understated, shy, and mannered that it only starts to unravel when he opens up to the group. Hidden, subdued anger is infinitely more difficult to portray than explicit rage, and Hall does such a brilliant job at the former that it's puzzling why the latter doesn't seem to be as convincing. Then again, perhaps I am missing the point: maybe it's the character who doesn't know how to portray his fear and anger rather than the actor.

The rest of the kids perform admirably in their roles. Molly Ringwald was the top teen actress of her time, and as Claire, the "princess", she did little to detract from that title. Emilio Estevez made for a convincing "jock"; you can literally see rivers of testosterone flowing underneath his skin (and as an aside – the reason for him being in detention was an interesting nod to the lingering homoeroticism in sports that professional "sportholes" seem to deny.) I had completely forgotten how good Ally Sheedy was as the "basket case." Her role was probably the most under-written of the five, but she makes the character so endearing and believable that, of all the characters in the film, hers is the one of whom I would most enjoy seeing further tales.

(And as another aside, she looked a lot hotter before her "make-over" than she did after Molly Ringwald butchered her. Feh!)

Eighteen years later, The Breakfast Club still works as great as it ever did. The laughs are still genuine, the feelings and fears the characters experience are still as real and as relevant as they were two decades ago. The film is probably Hughes's best as a writer/director, and for many of the cast The Breakfast Club remains the most cherished film of their fans. And yet, the film is deserves its acclaimed status. It still entertains and sustains interest with every frame, even for those of us who have seen it roughly six-thousand times and can recite the dialog quote and verse.

Matthew Millheiser (DVDTalk.com)