4.21 - THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) and Endings (or Not)

This week sees the start of our mini-season of high school movies, beginning with the seminal John Hughes film THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985). After some reviews, we talk about how character depth is important to a film about stereotypes, why detention really doesn’t work, and whether or not being a teenager is ever about having an ending (this makes sense in context, I promise...).

Next Time The next film in our high school season is 1989’s DEAD POETS SOCIETY.

Recent Media
FOR ALL MANKIND (2019): Ronald D. Moore, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman HYPOTHETICAL (2019): Josh Widdicombe, Tom Craine, James Acaster

Recommendations THE DARK KNIGHT (2008): Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986): John Hughes, Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck PITCH PERFECT (2012): Jason Moore, Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS (2004): Mark Hartley, Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus TEACHING MRS TINGLE (1999): Kevin Williamson, Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes THE DARK BACKWARD (1991): Adam Rifkin, Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton

Footnotes Firstly, Rob mentions in passing the idea of a ‘bottle’ episode; more on that, here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BottleEpisode. Here’s more on the difference between a stereotype and an archetype: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/91071/archetype-vs-stereotype. After we spent some time thinking about the adult characters in this film — and Sam watched it from the perspective of a teacher! — this article is interesting: https://guff.com/this-is-why-principal-vernon-is-the-true-hero-of-the-breakfast-club. Finally, this seems a good place to start our focus on the high school genre: https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/23070/1/the-pivotal-moments-in-any-teen.