Eat this Movie for Breakfast

You were a teenager once, right? I think I can make a sweeping,generalized statement that high school is a period of angst andpressure. Would you say that that period of your life was carefree, noworries? No way! You're put in a category: jock, nerd, popular oroutcast. You try to "fit in." Sound familiar? Would you say that themovie "Breakfast Club" encapsulates everything we felt as high schoolstudents? It doesn't matter if it's 1980 or 2080. Teenagers areteenagers. What makes "Breakfast Club" unique is that five studentswho would otherwise not associate with each other, spend one morningin detention and unwittingly break through stereotypes and labels todiscover they share things in common. Maybe things appear good on theoutside: star athlete (Emilio Estevez) will get a scholarship tocollege, the popular girl (Molly Ringwald) has beautiful clothes,jewelry and car, or the class genius (Anthony Michael Hall) is on theroad to Harvard. But beneath it all, each reveals the pressure ofhaving parents who push or expect too much, or don't care at all. Orin the case of the social derelict played by Judd Nelson, an abusivefather. Ally Sheedy plays a social misfit who keeps to herself.
I enjoyed "Breakfast Club" immensely. It was funny, but it alsotouches you with its message of breaking through the barriers whichkeep young people apart. It provides an opportunity for dialoguebetween disparate groups. Does this mean Ally Sheedy's character andAnthony Michael Hall's character will start socializing together atparties? Maybe that's not realistic, BUT each is definitely moresympathetic to the other and better understand where he/she is comingfrom. That's what makes this movie great. You're rooting for thesecharacters to continue building upon the bond forged during onedetention session. There's a lot still to share with each other. Maybethey're stronger from the experience.
On a more superficial level, the "Breakfast Club" movie draws upon thestudent vs. the mean teacher theme. It's the detention studentsagainst the evil detention teacher who's unforgiving and unwilling tobend. We can't help but root for the characters to get away with theirdetention antics without the teacher discovering them. What studentdoesn't fantasize about putting it over one of their hateful teachers?So enjoy this entertaining and thought provoking movie. I highlyrecommend "Breakfast Club."