The Breakfast Club (1985)

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention 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

2 wins.

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

Beyond being in the same class at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois, Claire Standish, Andrew Clark, John Bender, Brian Johnson and Allison Reynolds have little in common, and with the exception of Claire and Andrew, do not associate with each other in school. In the simplest and in their own terms, Claire is a princess, Andrew an athlete, John a criminal, Brian a brain, and Allison a basket case. But one other thing they do have in common is a nine hour detention in the school library together on Saturday, March 24, 1984, under the direction of Mr. Vernon, supervising from his office across the hall. Each is required to write a minimum one thousand word essay during that time about who they think they are. At the beginning of those nine hours, each, if they were indeed planning on writing that essay, would probably write something close to what the world sees of them, and what they have been brainwashed into believing of themselves. But based on their adventures during that ...

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Plot Keywords:

high school | detention | antihero | teenage rebellion | teenage angst | 

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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

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Breakfast Club

Filming Locations:

Park Ridge, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,107,599, 18 February 1985

Gross USA:

$45,875,171

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,525,171

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, A&M Films, Channel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Stereo (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As most people know, Shermer, Illinois is a fictitious suburb of Chicago in several John Hughes films such as this film, as well as Weird Science (1985), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Sixteen Candles (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), and National Lampoon's Vacation (1983). But, the zip code that Brian states in the opening of the film, 60062, is to an actual town. It belongs to Northbrook, Illinois, a town about thirty miles north of Chicago. Northbrook was originally incorporated as "Shermerville" (it changed its name in 1923), and one of the main roads through the town is still named Shermer Road. Glenbrook North High School, on which the film is based, is located on Shermer Road. John Hughes graduated from Glenbrook High School, and based his movies on the school and students. "The Breakfast Club" was the nickname for Saturday detentions.

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Goofs

When Bender is ripping pages out of books the pages are blank but when he throws the book at Brian you can see some pages have pictures and writing on them as they fall to the ground.

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Quotes

[as Bender prepares to urinate under his desk]
Andrew Clark: Hey, you're not urinating in here, man.
John Bender: Don't talk. Don't talk. It makes it crawl back up.

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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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Alternate Versions

Syndicated TV prints cut up to 20 minutes out of the movie, bringing the running time to 72 minutes without commercials.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Oldest Actors to Play Teenagers in Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Fire In The Twilight
[performed by] Wang Chung
Produced by Keith Forsey
Words by Jack Hues
Music by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff

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.