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The Breakfast Club

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The Breakfast Club (1984)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:38

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: The Breakfast Club is a warm, insightful, and very funny look into the inner lives of teenagers.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: When five high school students from different social groups are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention, they find themselves interacting with and understanding each other for the first... When five high school students from different social groups are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention, they find themselves interacting with and understanding each other for the first time. A jock (Emilio Estevez), a criminal (Judd Nelson), a princess (Molly Ringwald), a basket case (Ally Sheedy), and a brain (Anthony Michael Hall) talk about everything from parental tension to sex to peer pressure to hurtful stereotypes while serving time. Ultimately, the five find that they may have more in common than they ever imagined and learn more about themselves as well as each other. The only question is, Will they remember what they've learned after they leave detention? Director and writer John Hughes, along with the stellar Brat Pack, cast makes this a memorable, moving film filled with believable dialogue, intelligent humor, and a sufficient dose of high school hijinx. Its timeless appeal makes this film a teen classic along with Hughes's other teen films from the 1980s: SIXTEEN CANDLES and FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. A great soundtrack features the hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. [More]

Starring: Paul Gleason, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall

Starring: Paul Gleason, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, John Kapelos, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Ron Dean

Director: John Hughes

Director: John Hughes
Producer: John Hughes, Ned Tanen
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Composer: Gary Chang, Keith Forsey

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Breakfast Club

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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There's not a single false beat to be found, concluding Breakfast with a singular display of emotional discharge unheard of in its genre.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
09/08/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
DVDTalk.com

Time capsule.

comment Comment
02/16/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

In nine hours of threatening, bickering and, eventually, poignant (but never maudlin) self-revelation, the stereotypes dissolve and re-form.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/27/07
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

Good and bad, it’s still the definitive ’80s teen movie.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/18/07
Simon Crook
Simon Crook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Hughes's 1985 film seems meant to explain 80s youngsters to yesterday's youth, and comes to the comforting conclusion that they're just as alienated, idealistic, and vulnerable as the baby boomers of the 1960s.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/18/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

One of the few teen-oriented films that truly addresses the troubles of its characters, yet it falters in dealing with the issues raised.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/18/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Does director John Hughes really believe, as he writes here, that 'when you grow up, your heart dies.' It may. But not unless the brain has already started to rot with films like this.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 2 Comments
07/18/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
02/18/07
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

An iconic movie of the '80s, with all the unappealing baggage that suggests.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

The Breakfast Club was teen-auteur John Hughes' attempt to take a step back and evaluate the large horde of teens our schools turn out and how they desperately search for identity.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

Equal parts funny, smart and sincere, it's a movie that delved a little deeper into the teenage psyche and came back with something more challenging than "nerds want sex."

Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | comment Comment
11/11/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic

Teen comedy-drama, over easy.

comment Comment
07/06/05
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/07/05
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Anyone who has ever been to high school can relate to at least one of these kids.

comment Comment
04/22/05
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

...Hughes may have been the first filmmaker to attempt to put plausible teenagers on screen

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
04/17/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

One of the best films ever made...I mean it!

comment Comment
03/11/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
01/05/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
11/05/04
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The Breakfast Club doesn't need earthshaking revelations; it's about kids who grow willing to talk to one another, and it has a surprisingly good ear for the way they speak.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Offers a breakthrough portrait of the pain and miunderstanding which result from demeaning social hierarchies set up by teenagers.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/22/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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all

Latest News for The Breakfast Club

August 12, 2009: Molly Ringwald Pays Tribute to John Hughes Opens in new window
Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink star on the director's "neverland". More...

August 06, 2009: John Hughes: 1950-2009
John Hughes, the director, producer, and writer whose insightful and heartfelt teen comedies defined an era, died Thursday of cardiac arrest. He was 59 years old. Hughes became... More...

March 03, 2008: Who's Ready for a "Modern-Day Breakfast Club"?
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Five people, each from different walks of life, are forced into close quarters...and they walk away friends. More...

May 30, 2006: TV Staple Paul Gleason Succumbs to Lung Cancer
Paul Gleason, who frequently played figures of authority in his four decades-long television and film career, died Saturday from a form of lung cancer linked to asbestos... More...

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