The Breakfast Club (1985)

Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.

Director:

John Hughes

Writer:

John Hughes

Stars:

Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emilio Estevez	...	Andrew Clark
Paul Gleason	...	Richard Vernon
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Brian Johnson
John Kapelos	...	Carl
Judd Nelson	...	John Bender
Molly Ringwald	...	Claire Standish
Ally Sheedy	...	Allison Reynolds
Perry Crawford	...	Allison's Father
Mary Christian	...	Brian's Sister
Ron Dean	...	Andy's Father
Tim Gamble	...	Claire's Father
Fran Gargano	...	Allison's Mom
Mercedes Hall	...	Brian's Mom

Storyline

They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library. At 7 a.m., they had nothing to say, but by 4 p.m., they had bared their souls to each other and become good friends. To the outside world they were simply the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, the Princess and the Basket Case, but to each other, they would always be the Breakfast Club.

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Plot Keywords:

student | detention | high school | high school student | marijuana | 

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Taglines:

They were five total strangers, with nothing in common, meeting for the first time. A brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. Before the day was over, they broke the rules. Bared their souls. And touched each other in a way they never dreamed possible.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Breakfast Club

Filming Locations:

Deerfield High School - 1959 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$38,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&M Films, Channel Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Hughes originally wanted "The Breakfast Club" to be a 2-1/2 hour movie. However, many of the scenes were cut out and the negatives destroyed. John Hughes said in Première that he had the only complete copy of The Breakfast Club on film. Among the cut scenes from the movie (some filmed, some only written) are: -Carl predicts where the five kids will be in 30 years. Bender will have killed himself, Claire will have had "2 boob jobs and a face lift," Brian will have become very successful but die of a heart attack due to the stress of the high paying job. Allison will be a great poet but no one will care, and Andrew will marry a gorgeous airline stewardess who will become fat after having kids. -In a dream sequence, Allison imagines Andrew as a gluttonous Viking, Bender as a prisoner, Claire as a bride, Brian as an astronaut, and herself as a vampire. In an unfilmed alternative to this dream sequence, all five kids imagine random things, including cars, naked women, Godzilla, beer, and fighter planes, and these things end up filling the room until Vernon interrupts. -John Bender was not going to walk to school in the original script. He was going to be driven by his dad in a rusty tow truck, and have a brief fight with him before his dad drives off. Bender also tossed a bagged lunch, his father saying "You are a waste of lunch meat!" -After Bender demonstrates "Life at Big Bri's house" Brian stops Bender and corrects him with a much more pessimistic version of the skit. Claire then proceeds to act out her life before asking Bender to demonstrate his version. Bender's routine changes as well here. After Bender mimics his mom, he stops, commenting that "then they make me work to pay off the dentist for the teeth HE busts." -The scene where Andrew and Allison are walking to get the sodas is extended to a point where Allison pulls out a pack of cigarettes and smokes one. -After getting the sodas, Bender shakes his can violently and places it among the five to see who gets the rigged one. Allison ends up getting it, and when she opens the can, all the soda squirts directly into her mouth. -After Vernon asks who has to use the lavatory, the five go to the bathroom. Vernon gives the boys 2 minutes and the girls 3 minutes. Claire catches Allison in a stall eating a bag of chips, repulsing her. Bender mocks Brian for sitting down to pee instead of using a urinal. -Several staff members were cut out of the script before filming. Dr. Lange, a social studies teacher who dresses oddly, and Robin, a gym teacher. Robin helps Vernon on a few workout machines until Vernon injures his back, and she eventually visits the students while they are in their circle in the library. Robin initially replaced many of Carl's scenes and Carl was originally set to be a minor character with only 2 scenes.

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Goofs

When Mr. Vernon comes in and asks why is the door closed, you can see the chair he later uses to keep the door open, near the corner of the wall. When he goes back to get it, the chair has moved a foot to the right.

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Quotes

Bender: You know how you said before, how your parents use you to get back at each other? Wouldn't I be outstanding in that capacity?

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Crazy Credits

Opens with the following which then explodes from the screen. "And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds; are immune to your consultations, they are quite aware of what they are going through." -David Bowie

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Connections

Referenced in Beautiful Girls (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Heart Too Hot To Hold"
Jesse Johnson and Stephanie Spruill
Produced by Keith Forsey
Words by Keith Forsey, Laurie Forsey, Jesse Johnson, and Michael Frondelli
Music by Keith Forsey and Laurie Forsey

User Reviews

A love letter to all high school loners

I must admit that I was a true loner in high school, and essentially I'm now at 33 I'm still a loner who has become a bit more jaded with the passage of time. With that said, John Hughes "The Breakfast Club" seems to me to be a sort of love letter to all of us who just seemed to blend into the background during our high school years. Of course like everyone I also have a favorite character in the film, and my choice is Allison who is wonderfully played by Ally Sheedy. So, my advice to all who have read this far is to try and watch this film with your emotions rather than trying to analyze the film to death.