10 Things About Breakfast Club You Didn’t Understand Until You Were An Adult

Anyone who was sixteen years old when The Breakfast Club premiered is now in their fifties. How does the classic movie hold up after over 30 years?

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John Hughes’ classic movie, The Breakfast Club, was released in 1985. This means anyone who was 16 years old when it was first shown in theatres is now 52. They are now as old as Vice Principal Vernon and probably have children of their own who are now older than the movie’s characters.

Although The Breakfast Club is, in many ways, a timeless classic, the world has changed a lot in the last 35 years. In addition, viewers’ perceptions change as they get older. An adult watching The Breakfast Club in the 2020s will understand aspects of the movie that might have gone over the head of a 1980’s teenager.

The Characters Are All Still Children

What made The Breakfast Club one of John Hughes’ best movies was its empathetic treatment of teenagers, who were largely portrayed at the time as immature children. Being sixteen feels pretty grown up to a similarly aged teenage audience. However, re-watching as an adult, the viewer is struck by how very young all the characters are. (Although some of the actors in the roles were much older. Judd Nelson, for example, was 24 when he played Bender.)

Their youth and inexperience explain a lot of the characters’ poor decisions. Claire seems vacuous and obsessed with popularity and shopping. But that isn’t that unusual in someone in their mid-teens. Likewise, Brian’s social awkwardness and lying about his lack of experience with girls is perfectly “normal” for a teenager his age. 16 years old is on the cusp of adulthood. These are kids still figuring life out.

Many Of The Characters Are Victims Of Child Abuse

Andrew is pushed so hard by his father that he compares himself to a racehorse and wishes his knee would give out so that his father would forget about him. Allison’s parents ignore her. When she is dropped off at the beginning, she walks to the front of the car to say goodbye and the car just drives off without acknowledging her.

Bender’s home life is the most troubling. He shows the others a scar on his arm and tells them it’s a cigar burn that his dad gave him for spilling paint in the garage. It would have been better if rather than punishing Bender, the school authorities had removed him from such a toxic and abusive situation.

Brian Is Going To Turn Out To Be The Coolest One In The Group

Back in 1985, nerds were still the butt of jokes in movies. Brian’s personality is very different from the cool kids and the rebels. He is notably the only member of The Breakfast Club who doesn’t hook up with anyone. He also seems to be the only one who cares about – or even mentions – academic study.

Thirty years later, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg are role models for young people. Other students might not have mocked him for belonging to the math and physics clubs if they had known how much more important technology would become in all our lives.

They Failed The Essay Assignment

At the beginning of detention, Mr. Vernon tells the students that they are going to write an essay of “no less than a thousand words” explaining who they think they are. At Claire’s request, Brian writes an essay on behalf of the whole group and signs it “The Breakfast Club.” The paper that is turned in is 138 words long. It’s one of the best endings in the teen film genre.

It’s also not at all realistic. It is unlikely that Vernon would accept a collective effort. Brian’s essay is 862 words short, and the others didn’t hand in a paper at all. There must have been repercussions when the gang returned to school on Monday and the possibility of future detentions to get the assigned work finished.

Allison Lied About Why She Was There

When Allison explains what she did to get detention, she says “Nothing. I just didn’t have anything better to do.” If it were true, she picked a good Saturday to do it. Most Saturday detentions can’t have been as much fun as that one. (In fact, unless the school has a very high number of miscreants, it’s likely that detentions were often just Bender on his own.)

The audience already knows she lies for attention. Plus, Mr. Vernon has the right number of sheets of paper and pencils at the ready so he is clearly expecting all five of them. Allison was supposed to be there. The audience just doesn’t know what she did to gain such a punishment.

The Dope-Smoking Scene Is Ridiculous

Aside from Andrew’s glass-shattering tribal yell (which director John Hughes himself regrets including in the movie), there is so much about The Breakfast Club’s pot-smoking scene that doesn’t make sense.

The characters all sober up remarkably quickly. Admittedly this is a nine-hour detention condensed into a 90-minute movie, so viewers don’t know quite how long has passed until the next scene, but they go from doing Richard Pryor impressions and synchronized dancing to showing no signs of being stoned at all very quickly. Also, how did Mr. Vernon not know what was going on? Marijuana is known to give off a distinctive odor that he would recognize right away. He would have been able to smell it the next time he walked into the library.

Mr. Vernon Should Be Fired

In a quote worthy of The Breakfast Club’s best lines, Mr. Vernon tells Bender that “They love me around here. I’m a swell guy.” If they do think that, then Mr. Vernon has everyone fooled because his behavior in The Breakfast Club is reprehensible. For starters, he’s a terrible detention supervisor who leaves students alone for hours on end.

He passes the time by going through confidential school records. When Carl the janitor catches him in the illicit act, Mr. Vernon has to bribe him not to tell anyone. Worst of all is how he treats Bender, a minor in his care. Mr. Vernon verbally abuses Bender and even threatens him with physical violence. If there was any justice, Vernon would be out of a job.

Allison’s Makeover Is Not A Big Deal

Watching The Breakfast Club as a teenager, it feels like a betrayal when Allison gets a makeover from Claire. It is a well-used teen movie trope: the “plain” girl appears wearing conventional make-up and more feminine clothing and wins the heart of the popular jock.

Is it really a big deal though? Teenagers experiment with different looks all the time, and some new eyeshadow doesn’t fundamentally change who someone is as a person. The makeover provided an opportunity for Allison and Claire to spend some time together. Andrew and Allison had already connected earlier in detention, so when she inevitably puts her goth make-up back on the next day, he’ll probably be fine with it.

Sexual Assault Is Not The Way To Get The Girl

The most uncomfortable part of re-watching The Breakfast Club in the 21st century is witnessing the way Bender treats Claire. Bender insults all the characters, but he is particularly venomous to Claire, just because she is wealthy and popular.

Worst of all, he sexually assaults her when he hides from Vernon underneath Claire’s desk. When he comes out, Claire is visibly upset and it’s clear that what he did was non-consensual and unwelcome. Despite committing a sex crime only a few hours before, Bender and Claire get together. It’s a serious misstep, and one of the chief arguments that the movie hasn’t aged well.

Bender Shows The Least Amount Of Personal Growth

Most of the characters in The Breakfast Club go through an emotional change from the beginning to the end of the detention. When the group is sitting on the floor in a circle, they share their feelings and own up to their failings. Not so Bender, who still uses it as an opportunity to mock the other students.

Bender is clever and quick-witted. He is a sort of character that, despite his background, would go on to achieve great things after high school. It would have been satisfying for the audience if they could have seen a moment when Bender reflected on his behavior and explored the reasons why he behaved the way he did.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/breakfast-club-things-misunderstood/