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Idealized and over exaggerated sure, isn't that what a lot of movies do? But I think for many of us who grew up during that time frame there is enough truth in the stereotypes to resonate with us. We all knew who was our own school's version of the jock, the princess, etc. I'm pretty sure I could go to my HS yearbook and pick out just who would have been Judd, Molly, Ally, and the rest, so when you say you didn't know anybody like that it doesn't fit my experience all.
Idealized and over exaggerated sure, isn't that what a lot of movies do? But I think for many of us who grew up during that time frame there is enough truth in the stereotypes to resonate with us. We all knew who was our own school's version of the jock, the princess, etc. I'm pretty sure I could go to my HS yearbook and pick out just who would have been Judd, Molly, Ally, and the rest, so when you say you didn't know anybody like that it doesn't fit my experience all.
Yep. And I have family who have lived in North Shore Chicago suburbs (where the movie was set) since before that movie was made, and they see ways that it resonates.
Yep. And I have family who have lived in North Shore Chicago suburbs (where the movie was set) since before that movie was made, and they see ways that it resonates.
I grew up in and around Milwaukee in the 80s and early 90s, I knew kids exactly like this at school lol. We even had Saturday detentions.
My mother grew up in Wilmette, she's in her 70s and too old to "relate" her high school experience, but still enjoyed the movie. She really loved Ferris Bueller's Day off, though, you can really see the sights of the city in this film. (She says the same about the church and several other filming locations in the movie 'Home Alone', including the house, which I have seen in person.)
I am a John Hughes fan, and will always love the Breakfast Club
Idealized means regarded or represented as perfect (better), versus what is accepted as real. Perhaps you mean exaggerated. I don't know where you went to high school, but you must have gone to a small one in a rural area or suburban fringe.
Of the three males and two females in The Breakfast Club, I knew all but one of their types in high school:
"Andrew" (Emilio Estevez): very representative of a jock/athlete, they practically leap out of fiberglass molds. His troubled home life was not far-fetched. A parent with control issues is not an anomaly.
"Claire" (Molly Ringwald): a typically insecure though popular socialite, very common in California in the 1980s (and other decades). Her hair and clothing are very '80s. No further explanation required.
"Brian" (Anthony Michael Hall): again, the token nerd/dork/dweeb, his nose in his books (and Playboy), and usually unable to talk his way out of a physical confrontation in the locker room. I knew a guy who looked and acted just like him (he wasn't as hopelessly geeky, but still didn't date). (But "Brian" considering ending his life over a low grade? Now that is fictional window dressing.)
"Allison" (Ally Sheedy): the misfit who appears to not give two spits about "fitting in," when that is all she secretly desires. "Allison" is an amalgamation of several types, really, but she wasn't a one-of-a-kind, not in that time zone nor era.
I didn't know a "Bender" because I didn't befriend those types (my brother was more than enough). But they're out there. "Bender" was a bit exaggerated, I concur. Crawling through the ceiling and falling through it? No. Mouthing off and trying to get physical with an authority figure? Naturally. It was reported that "Bender" (Nelson, in character) went to a laundromat and got the cops called on him, too!
I get it, and I don't doubt that there are "types" or "cliques" of teens just like this. I knew an Andrew, a Claire, a Brian, an Allison, and a Bender. But none of them acted like the teens in TBC. The characters in TBC talk and act like an adult thinks like teens act. The tint through the rose-colored glasses seems a bit too fake to me.
I didn't grow up in southern California, but I found the kids in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH much more relatable and familiar. Same thing with DAZED AND CONFUSED. Or STAND BY ME. Even HEATHERS, although it was a black, biting satire, had characters that acted like actual teenagers. THE BREAKFAST CLUB just doesn't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by d0tsth0ts
The Breakfast Club is overrated but preferable to Ferris (now that is truly a terrible experience).
Realizing that Ferris Bueller is actually a colossal a-hole is a good sign you're finally grown up. Kinda like when you realize that Mr. Hand is actually the hero of FAST TIMES and Spiccoli is a loser.
I don't really like most of John Hughes's "teen" movies. His movies for and about adults are actually much better. PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES is a classic. SHE'S HAVING A BABY is criminally under-rated.
"National Lampoon's Vacation," "Weird Science," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," "Uncle Buck," and "She's Having a Baby." Despite his impressive resume, Hughes is arguably best known for his trilogy of coming-of-age films featuring Molly Ringwald: "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink," and seminal classic, "The Breakfast Club."
I liked all of those movies, although I don't recall much about 16 candles.
This photo likely still triggers neo Marxists.
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobspez
I always hated The Breakfast Club. It's probably the most boring movie ever made, just a bunch of kids in a room talking. No action, no scenery, just stupid dialogue that no one actually speaks. It reminds me of all the night time soap operas like This is Us. I won't watch it but my wife is hooked. No one in real life ever says those sappy things to anyone else. It's totally made up dialogue by second rate Hallmark Card writers.
I'm guessing the Rambo or Schwarzennegger movies are more to your liking.
I didn't miss it. I just don't share the love. I liked Uncle Buck. And make no mistake: I love John Candy. But as a film Uncle Buck is just kinda so-so. It spends a little too much time on the jokes and not enough on the heart. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles nailed that balance. P,T,aA is by far Hughes's best movie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annandale_Man
How about:
The Last American Virgin
The Porky's trilogy
Footloose
All The Right Moves
THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN, despite being an '80s teen sex comedy, is surprisingly smart in the writing. And unflinching in its honesty. The studio obviously wanted another raunchy sex comedy (which it definitely is in places), but the writer obviously wanted something more to the story and delivered. I don't know that I'd go so far as to call it a classic, but it is definitely an under-rated '80s gem.
The PORKY'S flicks and FOOTLOOSE were fun popcorn flicks. Not much more.
I don't think I have seen ALL THE RIGHT MOVES in 30+ years. I don't remember liking it much. But maybe I was just too young to appreciate it?
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Kinda like when you realize that Mr. Hand is actually the hero of FAST TIMES and Spiccoli is a loser. 
