One of the things that the late John Hughes  was known for was his films involving adolescence. The majority of us might remember him as being a producer and writer of Home Alone, a movie that is fondly etched into our memory. All throughout the 80’s however he was the major director when came to dealing with teenagers and young adults and no film best supports that opinion than the 1985 classic known as the Breakfast Club. In the Breakfast Club, five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under the eye of their principal. The degenerate group includes Bender, Claire , Allison, Brian and Andrew . Each has a chance to tell their story making the others see them a little differently.
In the clip above, we are introduced to the five major characters and their high school stereotypes. Bender(criminal), Allison(weirdo), Andrew(jock), Brian(nerd), and Claire(Popular Girl) we see Brian, Andrew, and Clair with their parents and we can feel the pressure that each one of these kids have on them to be successful.  Also note that the two kids whose parents were not shown, Bender whose parents were not shown altogether and Alison whose parents drop her off without even saying goodbye. Later on in the movie we see how the parents behavior affected their children and how they treat others. What i like about this film so much is how relatable it is. Growing up we all knew  people who fit in with certain stereotypes while in high school. Some of us might have even been that stereotype and so to see it on the big screen like this and to have it written as well as it is here just makes it an amazing movie.
Great choice of movie. I’ve actually watched this movie tons of time and I coincidentally always miss the beginning. John Hughes focuses on the setting first, and goes straight into the characters with minimal dialogue. He does a perfect job capturing every character and their personality in just this starting scene. From this scene you can tell right off the back that it is going to be a comedy that some people will be able to relate to just because of the choice of props he show in the school shots. What I did find very interesting is that Hughes only did straight shot scenes throughout the whole starting scene. I wonder what made him prefer that technique. Also, it is very impressive how this starting scene tells a story throughout the whole movie because just like you said the parents influenced their behavior. Overall, Hughes planned a story from the starting point to tie in through the whole movie which I found very compelling.
One of my favorite childhood movies. My mother being a movie lover more so than me, and it being one of her favorites in high school, introduced me to it. We would watch it whenever it came on TV. That fact that it’s actually set in one area in the school the whole time, detention, and still manages to be interesting and enjoyable is the thing I love most about the film. I feel like it would just get boring if it wasn’t for the roles the characters had to play. The rebel, the weird girl, the popular one, the jock, the geek..etc.. It’s like what if we just put all of them together and see what happens, aside from the parents playing a role.
For me I like the ending better because you can feel how just how everyone got along, some even got together.
I especially like the shot when the teachers reading the letter mixed with Bender walking down the field towards the camera to “Don’t you (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds.