Happy 25th Birthday to the Breakfast Club!
February 15th has some fantastic birthdays. Jokers such as the late Chris Farley, Harvey Korman, and Cesar Romero. Former Fake TV Doc and current jewelry designer Jane Seymour. Cartoonist and creator of Television’s longest running cartoon (the Simpsons) Matt Groening. So Happy Birthday to all of those great people and one film that helped shape a generation. I speak of course of John Hughes’ epic teen magnum opus, The Breakfast Club.
That’s right kids. In 1985, Hughes’ released a little dramedy unto the world. Taking archetype teens (“a Jock”, “a Brain”, “a Beauty”, “a Rebel”, and “a Recluse”) and forcing them to sit in detention under the thumb of a tyrannical principal… the movie dared do what few in the ilk had ever done. It shined the light on these caricatures and gave audiences what they didn’t expect: Real teens! The Jock was buckling under the pressure of his father’s great expectations! The Brain was ready to threaten his shop teacher over a bad grade! And the Rebel? Well he was just a kid no one ever gave a chance. While Hughes’ earlier foray into teenagedom, 16 Candles, was well received, it was Breakfast Club that helped define a generation to come.
Let’s face it. No matter which kid you vibed with, The Breakfast Club represented you and your friends like no film had before it, or has since. While other teen flicks make those years out to be nothing but a mad dash to losing one’s virginity, here was a film that took time to show that sex aside, being a teen is a complicated time. I was a mere toddler when the film debuted in theaters. It’s with shame and remorse that I admit my generation cut it’s teeth on American Pie. And while Pie tried hard to capture some of Hughes’ magic, no amount of pie-boinking and Eugene Levy can match Pixie Stick and Cap N’ Crunch sandwiches and amazing dancing.
So, raise a glass and toast The Breakfast Club. It’s finally old enough to see a significant drop in it’s auto insurance rate. Kudos. Now, let’s all take a walk down memory lane…