Did The Breakfast Club Stand the Test of Time?

I watched The Breakfast Club with my 14-year-old daughter. It didn’t go as expected.

As a teen, I was a huge Molly Ringwald fan. 14-year-old Robin had a tiny (read: huge) crush on our gal, Molly. I pierced my left ear a second time because she had a second piercing. I transcribed the entire movie of 16 Candles into a notebook. Why? I don’t know. I called the local radio station approximately one million times requesting they play the movie’s theme song by Simple Minds while anxiously awaiting the start of the song so I could hit record on my boombox. I also watched and rewatched everything Molly was in, including a TV movie about teen suicide with that guy from Gremlins. I watched it so many times that my mom told my sister she thought I might be suicidal. I wonder why my mom didn’t think to check in with me directly, but hey, details schmetails. 

Now that my 14-year-old daughter, Maxine started High School, it seemed like the perfect time to share with her some of those angsty, young adult movies that were so formative for me. I’m talking 16 Candles, St. Elmo’s Fire, and my fave, The Breakfast Club, which we watched this past weekend. 

You might be wondering, did The Breakfast Club stand the test of time? Did my daughter love it? Well, here are my thoughts on the movie, but this time from the point of view of an old mom in the year 2023. 

1. The role reversal had me shook. As a teen, I identified hard with this movie. It captured high school Robin; an outsider with a not-so-ideal homelife. At that age, I wasn’t able (or willing) to verbalize thoughts about my family, so these five, dare I call them friends, were a beacon during some dark times. But watching with my daughter was an entirely different experience. I was instantly struck by the underlying theme of the film; all parents are horrible. Needless to say, I spent most of the movie sneaking furtive glances at Maxine, searching for signs of parental hatred. 

2. Just how old is John Bender? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say John Bender (played by Judd Nelson) must be repeating 12th grade for the 5th time because he looks 23. That might be because Judd Nelson was 26 when he made that movie. I know he’s the film’s bad boy, so he should look a little worse for wear, but I think they might have been pushing it with the almost 30-ness.

3. Behind-the-scenes romances. I still can’t believe Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall dated during the making of this film. I shared this behind-the-scenes tidbit with my daughter hoping she’d think I was cool or in the know, but she shushed me and went back to the movie. Fine. 

4. Speaking of dating. Let’s talk about the “bad boy saves good girl” trope. I’m not usually one to be all, “Can we stop with the women needing a man to rescue them?” When Maxine was little, we let her watch every princess movie ever made, including Beauty and the Beast, which I think we can all agree did not stand the test of time since The Beast is pretty much an abuser who traps Belle in the castle and isolates her from her family. But back to The Breakfast Club, I never had a problem with the Claire and John Bender storyline. I even rooted for them like, “Aww. Isn’t that sweet?” But watching with my daughter had me switching sides faster than a politician who just found out there was video of the incident they denied earlier in the day. Looking at you BoBo. I found myself saying things like “Wow, that was kind of rapey.” As John talked about locking the door and impregnating the prom queen. I made a mental note to use John Bender as an example for my kids to “make better choices in friends” in the future.

4B.  Also, while we’re on this subject, at the end of the movie, Claire gives John a very expensive diamond earring and makes out with him on the hood of her parent’s car. We never get a shot of the parent in the car. We are left to assume they are doing what? Smiling and thinking, “Oh, she’s got a new friend. How cute.” Nah, bro. Nah.  

5. Ohhh the weed. Try watching a movie with your teen that makes smoking pot look like the Best. Day. Ever. and not launching into a lecture entitled “Cannabis: the Slippery Slope to a Life of Drug Use.”  I was sort of able to refrain, but I let slip out, “Punkin’, I’m doing my best not to turn this into a teachable moment.” She laughed in my face, said thank you, and turned back to the TV.  

6. The teen suicide angle hits so much harder when you are a mom. I remember the first time I saw the scene with Anthony Michael Hall talking about how he couldn’t fail. “I can’t have it. I know my parents can’t have it.” There was a pit in my stomach because I knew exactly what he was alluding to. As a mom, that moment was so much worse. The idea that life for a teen could be so dark, that they could feel so much pressure that they don’t want to go on is horrific. I’ll be forever thankful for the brilliance of John Huges though, for writing an eloquent transition to laughter as Anthony Michael Hall admits it was a flare gun and it went off in his locker, blowing up the ceramic elephant he had gotten an F on. Everyone needed that moment of release. Then and now.

7. Are we supposed to forget about the dandruff? A little bit of makeup, a new outfit (that Ally Sheedy presumably stole from someone earlier in the day) and she’s a new gal! Go ahead, make out with her, Emilio. Yes, she steals your varsity letter patch and has your hoody over her shoulder as she leaves, but I guess at least you know she took it.  And hey, look how clean she is now. No dandruff! 

8. I can do a perfect Molly Ringwald dance. This has nothing to do with the movie and its current-day relevance. I just wanted to share that with you. 

9. We’re all just trying to find our way. As the movie started I admit, I was taking the “parent’s suck” theme personally. But then, as the movie went on, I began seeing it for what it was, a bunch of people trying to find their way in a world that doesn’t have directions. Yes, there are a lot of “it was the 80s” jokes that wouldn’t and probably shouldn’t be included today, but I tend to think it’s important to put the time and place aside and take the heart and soul of the piece of art. That movie made me, an outsider from a small upstate New York town, feel a little less alone in the world. I’m glad it was made, and I’m glad it was there for young Robin. 

After the movie was over, I asked my daughter what she thought. 

Her first response? “Why?” 

I said, “Because I’m writing a Substack about it.” 

She said, “Nope.” 

I pressured her some more, and she said, “OK fine. I don’t think it held up. But it was fun. Bye.” 

Then she walked off to her room to get back on her iPad.

Ultimately, I guess it doesn’t matter if she liked it or not because we had some quality time, and I shared some of my past with her. That’s a win.