The Breakfast Club

At times I thought it was a bit naive, an "old man's" (which John Hughes was definitely not) view of teenage life, but on the other hand I would carve some of the statements and ideas in stone. Certainly the mental processes of teenagers stemming from the traumatic "despotic father vs. son" relationship was hit perfectly by Hughes, the unusual comedic exaggeration was surprisingly fine considering the seriousness of the topic, the light hinting of sexual themes was amusing, the five completely different characters complemented each other perfectly and it just flowed very nicely. A very nice film and a well-deserved major overseas cult following. (02/18/2024)

I get what John Hughes was trying to say, and especially given the punchline, I won't fault the film for the fact that the main characters represent well-known (not only) American high school stereotypes... But if I hadn't been so bored watching their dialogue and monologues, I would have been at least one star happier. (04/13/2020)

John Hughes always managed to write very good characters, but here he truly went all out. At first glance, the protagonists may seem like caricatures, but they are deep, which is actually the essence of the whole movie, and John Hughes captured that perfectly. We are what we are, and this film shows it beautifully. Nothing will transform us unless we want it to. We just have to remember that. (12/30/2015)

Those archetypical characters have their justification in the film. Because nowhere else do you come close to the psychology of these figures. The Breakfast Club doesn't go extremely deep on this one, and even leaves a lot to the viewer's imagination (which in this case is a cop-out), but it surprisingly doesn't go to any extreme lengths to enrich the film with some pretty fresh humorous elements. Otherwise, I'd gladly pay two paychecks for the model they smoked there -) (12/05/2010)

Nice guys aren't extinct, resistance hasn't died out. A film that deserves to be referenced (Scrubs), imitated (Dawson's Creek), and parodied (Not Another Teen Movie). In any case, it is an ideal generational statement surpassing either the famous Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused. (03/30/2009)