BREAKFAST CLUB Thoughts

The other night I tuned in just in time to see the closing credits of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, that Gen-X classic still much beloved by at least a few different age groups. I was bummed. Judd Nelson's fist was frozen in his moment of victory. What led him to this point, the non-watcher may ask.

BC was a bit out of the box for its time. The premise of having five high schoolers talk about themselves on basically one set (library) might've been a tough sell to studio execs. But writer-director John Hughes, the bard of the 80s teen dramedy, somehow knew his tale would click with teens. He was right. It was a minor phenom in its day. Since then, it reamins an oft quoted piece of pop culture.

When I first saw it, I was smack in the middle of high school. It seemed that these "types": prom queen, jock, nerd, hoodlum, and recluse, represented people around me. It seemed fresh, but even then I knew it wasn't anything "new." The issues discussed in the film were as old as mankind. I gave this film a four-star rating.

Over the years, I've caught bits and pieces, realizing that the film is, well, not a 4-star affair. There are some crawlingly bad moments-the lip synch and marijuana sequences especially. The nadir comes when Emilio Estevez, totally luded out (yet with a burst of energy) screams and shatters a glass door. OK. Most of the music is VERY dated. But, that's part of the charm. The film is of its time yet timeless. The film is a relic, one which evokes a variety of memories of my own hs experiences, good and bad. The ultimate: setting up a screening of BC in my old high school gymnasium. Man, would that be a wallow! Unfortunately, that gym no longer exists. The wrecking back claimed it in '03 to make way for a more modern athletic facility. It's OK, I can watch BC on a plasma and take that trip anytime.....

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