[10]

Writer/director John Hughes had more box office hits than you can shake a stick at, and while many of them were fun and irreverent fare (like Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Weird Science), one sticks out above the crowd -- his crowning achievement: The Breakfast Club.  It's a low-concept, small-scale production -- practically a filmed stage play -- about five disparate teenagers who suffer Saturday detention together. There's the jock (Emilio Estevez), the princess (Molly Ringwald), the nerd (Anthony Michael Hall), the bad boy (Judd Nelson), and the weirdo (Ally Sheedy) -- all kids who would never spend one minute of time together under any other circumstances. But tossed together in their school library under the watch of their vindictive principal (Paul Gleason), they are forced to get to know one another.

While Hughes never abandons the comic potential of the piece, The Breakfast Club dares to treat its adolescent characters like fully-fleshed out and (heaven forbid) complicated characters who hide their fears and insecurities under facades of machismo and elitism. Over the course of their day together, the characters lower their shields and come to a believable understanding of each other. The film doesn’t go so far as to say that they’ll all be friends in the hallways come Monday morning, but it does address the victimization of the high school caste system.

Brilliant performances all around, but the one that gets to me the most is Anthony Michael Hall as the nerd, Brian. He’s picked on throughout most of the film, but has a seemingly endless ability to shrug it off. Of all the characters, he is the one most desperate to make and keep these friends, but when he realizes it will never happen, it’s hard not to be moved. Hughes makes him a hero — the only character who promises friendship beyond detention. Other heroes of the film are editor Dede Allen, who juggles reaction shots to masterful effect, and song-writer Keith Forsey, who tapped Simple Minds to perform the film’s timeless anthem, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”.

Under the guise of another bubbly teen comedy, John Hughes speaks meaningfully to his target audience, teenagers who feel odd and alone, never realizing how much they have in common with each other — whether you’re a jock, a princess, a nerd, a bad boy, a weirdo… or whatever.