Fresh
In nine hours of threatening, bickering and, eventually, poignant (but never maudlin) self-revelation, the stereotypes dissolve and re-form.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
The Breakfast Club
They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.
1985 · 1h 38m · R
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
John Hughes
Overview
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
Director and cast
- John Hughes Director
- Emilio Estevez as Andrew "Andy" Clark
- Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Ralph Johnson
- Judd Nelson as John Bender
- Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish
- Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds
- Paul Gleason as Richard Vernon
- John Kapelos as Carl
- Perry Crawford as Allison's Father
- Mary Christian Cast
- Ron Dean Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
87%
Tomatometer
Fresh
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.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Rotten
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.
Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh
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.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten
Mr. Hughes, having thought up the characters and simply flung them together, should have left well enough alone.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
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