Released in 1985, "The Breakfast Club" was written and directed by John Hughes; it's a teen dramedy centering on five high school students from different social groups who spend an entire Saturday serving detention at their suburban Chicago school. Molly Ringwald portrays the popular girl, Emilio Estevez embodies the athlete, Anthony Michael Hall plays the intelligent student, Judd Nelson is the rebellious troublemaker, and Ally Sheedy takes on the role of a troubled outsider. Paul Gleason and John Kapelos appear as the supervising principal and janitor, respectively. This film holds a significant reputation as an iconic 1980s teen movie, but I found it quite disappointing. Many of the conversations between these students from various cliques feel fabricated and unbelievable. Some lines are genuinely awkward to hear. The delinquent character had potential—perhaps reminiscent of The Fonz or Vinnie Barbarino—but he's so irritatingly loud and abrasive that any chance for audience empathy vanishes, especially during instances where he verbally assaults the redhead without clear motivation. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The fact that they end up together at the conclusion only compounds the issue. ***END SPOILER*** This is compounded by two other pairings that seem improbable. It’s odd that "The Breakfast Club" is considered a comedy because it isn't particularly humorous, though there are occasional moments of enjoyment, like some of the musical segments. Apparently, Hughes didn’t favor more intense rock music, so the soundtrack consists exclusively of generic 1980s new wave bands—a pattern seen in his other teen films such as "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." While there are a few good songs, like “We Are Not Alone” by Karla DeVito, I wonder where the more popular hard rock acts of 1984 are—bands like Van Halen, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Ratt, Dokken, Queensryche, Def Leppard, AC/DC or Motley Crue. Is it too much to ask for even a single song with some real energy? The music isn't the biggest problem with this film (and isn’t really an issue at all beyond the lack of heavier tracks). The actors do okay, but Hughes’ writing doesn't ring true, so you don't connect with the characters. A substantial revision of the screenplay would have been necessary. The movie has a running time of 97 minutes and was filmed in the Chicago suburbs. GRADE: C-

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