John Hughes wrote and directed this quintessential 1980s high school drama featuring the hottest young stars of the decade. Trapped in a day-long Saturday detention in a prison-like school library are Claire, the princess (
Molly Ringwald); Andrew, the jock (
Emilio Estevez); John, the criminal (
Judd Nelson); Brian, the brain (
Anthony Michael Hall); and Allison, the basket case (
Ally Sheedy). These five strangers begin the day with nothing in common, each bound to his/her place in the high school caste system. Yet the students bond together when faced with the villainous principal (
Paul Gleason), and they realize that they have more in common than they may think, including a contempt for adult society. "When you grow up, your heart dies," Allison proclaims in one of the film's many scenes of soul-searching, and, judging from the adults depicted in the film, the teen audience may very well agree. Released in a decade overflowing with derivative teen films,
The Breakfast Club has developed an almost cult-like status, and it has become a classic of the genre thanks to its band of talented stars and attempt to examine the stereotypes found in American high schools.
