The Breakfast Club continues to meet expectations

When I first decided to watch The Breakfast Club, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I thought it would be a goofy and entertaining ’80s movie without much meaning behind it, but I quickly realized that The Breakfast Club is in fact a truly profound coming-of-age story. I was surprised that, despite the fact that the movie was released in 1985, it retained its relevance over the years and relates to many of the experiences of today’s teenagers. The Breakfast Club does a wonderful job of portraying life in high school and the typical high school stereotypes as well as dissecting and destroying these same restrictive stereotypes.

The film’s plot revolves around a group of five high school students that meet in detention on a Saturday. Each of them represents a specific high school cliché: the jock, the brain, the princess, the criminal and the basket case. Although they seem to have nothing in common, after spending eight hours together in an empty school, they confide in each other and realize that despite their apparent differences they all face the same challenges, among which are the pressure they feel from parents and friends and their own worries about the future.

What makes this movie stand out is that despite some cheesy moments (it is an ’80s movie, after all) it still succeeds in not being a complete Hollywood       cliché with a corny happy ending. Even though the five teenagers now feel like they all are friends, they admit to each other that none of them will probably talk to the others when school starts again on Monday. Furthermore, the film’s success also lies in that fact that the dialogues between the five teenagers are so filled with honesty that the movie seems very realistic.

This movie depicts extremely convincingly the struggles that teenagers go through in order to “be somebody” and to be recognized. While the teenagers of the movie all agree that they are a lot more than what people think they are, they also continue to spend a lot of time and energy trying to mold to what society expects them to be. This applies not only to high school, but also to society in general. For example, the character of the janitor in the film, who despite his position is portrayed as being significantly smarter than the school principal, shows that the overall message of the movie about not judging a person by their appearance or stereotype applies to the “adult” world, as well. 

One of the other big themes of this movie is the opposition between teenagers and adults. This is pictured by the relationship between the members of the Breakfast Club and Richard Vernon, the principal of the school, who is a caricature of stupidity and cruelty. The film also confronts the relationship between teenagers and their parents. This tension between the two generations is explained by the fact that the teenagers’ worst nightmare is to become just like their parents. Then again, the somewhat pessimistic point of view of the movie is also heard: “It’s unavoidable, it just happens.” 

The Breakfast Club is an entertaining film with some funny moments, but also a lot of deep, relevant themes. Although it was released 25 years ago, it gives the viewer a truly insightful view into the world of adolescence and the pressure and angst associated with growing up. It is a refreshing movie that will make you think a little more than the average teen comedy.