We are stepping back in time this week at Tuesday Night is Film Night, way back to 1985, a whole 30 years, to sample the delights of;
The Breakfast Club
Although some of us at TNiFN Towers would have been around and would have been the right age at the time of this film's original release (cough, cough, that'll be me!!), nobody actually saw it back then. Therefore it's classic status was unknown to us, clearly we've led a sheltered life. However, we were encouraged by reviews and were keen to get it off the Sky+ box. Anyway back to the film synopsis, we know it's a cheat, but indulge us for a few minutes, the following paragraph was stolen from Wikipedia, purely for the fact that it sums up the characters and their reasons for being thrown together succinctly, so forgive the laziness for one moment;
"On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students report at 7:00 a.m. for all-day detention at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois. While not complete strangers, each of them comes from a different clique, and they seem to have nothing in common. The beautiful and pampered Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), the state champion wrestler Andrew Clarke (Emilio Estevez), the bookish Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall); the reclusive outcast Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), and the rebellious John Bender (Judd Nelson)."
Anyway, back to us. We would describe this film from the pen of, and under the directorship of John Hughes, as a coming of age high school story, some would say the best in this genre, it certainly was compelling, we think that sums the plot line up quite nicely; compelling. These five teenage characters thrust together with their multiple lives juxtaposed against each other and examined under the microscope of their own making. Each character has their own traits, their own story, their own reasons for being there and their own outlook on teenage life, take all of these variables and you are presented with a compelling (there's that word again) comedic drama, with a multiplicity of story threads interwoven with each other, where they are examined and cross examined via the internal machinations of the self acclaimed Breakfast Club. (This name is revealed at the end).
We travel though at a high pace, but a slow speed, which is a contradiction in terms, but that is what it feels like, the mood of the film and that of the story is in a constant state of flux as the intermingled storylines ebb and flow in and out of focus. Each character in turn taking a leading position, then falling back as another takes over. Each story is from their own different background and their own perspective, sometimes they agree, sometimes they agree to disagree, sometimes they argue, sometimes they console each other, but all the time these five, disparate, separate, unconnected, unrelated, different and distinct individuals are drawn together. That is one of the fascinating threads to the whole film; how a disjointed and remote group can come together in such a way and if you haven't seen the film, we're not going to delve into the detailed minutiae of how this is achieved.
The film is funny and sad, it is depressing yet uplifting, it is buoyant and quirky and all the while the Eighties soundtrack is not that far away. Maybe the music and the fashions are dated now (we loved the music though!), but the story and issues examined are still relevant today. Although it is definitely aimed at the teen market, we don't think it matters if you're not a teenager anymore, as long as you were a teen once, then this film will certainly strike some chords. Hopefully.
It split the panel here at TNiFN Towers, not everyone thought it was as good as the other, but it was a slow burner, getting better and better as the film and the story progressed. As a result the ratings are fairly mediocre for the great film that it is classed to be.
Editors note; what can you do? I only write this stuff, the others vote!
TNiFN Rating 76%
IMDB Link
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