This task has been much harder to pursue than I first imagined. I mean I watch movies all the time, but I have now realized that I never finish movies I watch, or I break them into pieces throughout the week. Also, I don't own many of the movies on this list, and I have little time to go out and buy them or find them online.
Wait.... I don't watch things online. I'm not a pirate. Seriously, what do you people think of me?!
Anywho, these past few weeks have filled my time with brutal school work deadlines, tests and finally spring break. I won't bore you with the wonders of LA and Vegas, because that's not what this is about. I did get to watch one of the movies on the list FINALLY!
I watched The Breakfast Club.
Yes, this is another movie I have seen before. Many, MAny, MANY times before. However, I was on a road trip and this was the only movie that qualified on my Ipod. And let's face it, what's so bad about watching The Breakfast Club for the millionth time? NOTHING!
This is one of my top 2 favorite movies of all time, that I have seen so far anyways. My other favorite is Almost Famous, which, I'm sad to say, did not make the list. I will watch it though. Mark my words.
Anyways, back to the movie at hand. I love The Breakfast Club because it is one of those movies that I can watch over and over and always get something new out of it. As I grow older and the experiences in my life change, I find some new meaning or appreciation for the characters. I identify with a different one almost every time I watch.
I know the movie is the cheesy classic lesson of people of different character, social background, lifestyles etc coming together and realizing they really aren't as different as they seem. However, it's told in such a raw and amazing way, through the eyes of teenagers.
Although, let's face it, these people were definitely not teenagers when they played these roles. Pretty sure the only one I believed to be the right age was Anthony Michael Hall, and that's just because he was tiny. Like stick thin and nerd tiny.
The character I identify with the most in the stage of life I'm in now, is Molly Ringwald's, Claire. Not because I'm popular, and I never was, believe me. Not because I'm struggling with sex issues, although who doesn't struggle with that. I connect with that character because of her honesty. Yes, she's spoiled and conceited and immature. But she says what she thinks. She doesn't censor herself just to spare the feelings of others. She puts the truth, or at least her belief of what the truth is, out there without fear. She gets completely flooded with consequences, but yet she still tells it like it is.
If you know me at all, you know I am this person. I'm called a bitch quite often because of the way I speak. And I'll admit, I can sometimes deserve it. But I don't see the point in sugar coating the truth or my thoughts. It doesn't do me any good and I believe it doesn't do others any good.
In high school, I felt like a mixture between Brian, Hall's character, and Andrew, Emilio Estevez.
Side note: I cannot see Emilio Estevez in anything without hearing quacking. Mighty Ducks has ruined him for me.
Back to the point. Andrew and Brian both faced the same basic problem, living up to the ideals and goals of their parents. This is another shining example of different characters connecting through the same basic troubles. These characters have polar opposite lifestyles. "Sporto" is popular, social and athletic. Brian is smart/nerdy, "demented and sad, but social" and on a lower social rung. However, they both crave success in their respective skills, due to the insistence and expectations from their parents.
Andrew needs to stay the Alpha dog and succeed in wrestling to stay in the high graces of his father, and in attempting to do just that, he assaults another student and ends up in detention. Brian needs to stay on top of his academic game, even in shop, and fails. This makes him so depressed he brings a gun, well a flare gun, to school and ends up in detention. Different paths, same destination.
I don't think I've met a single person who hasn't, at some point in their life, felt inferior and desperate to succeed. Correct me if I'm wrong though!!
The two other characters, Bender and Allison, are two of a kind as well, in my opinion. I also relate to them, though more in flashes of rebellion and depression that enter and exit my life. I find them the same person, like Andrew and Brian, in different circumstances. Each in a stage of rebellion against the cards they were dealt. Bender, by acting out loudly and sometimes violently and Allison by lying and closing off to the world.
Bender is the character I have heard most complaints about being unrealistic. I don't understand it. This is a kid that EVERY person has met in high school. Off the beaten path, into the wrong extra curricular activities and colorful, both verbally and actively.
I may just speak for myself, but in high school I heard, and many times used, the same kind of language as him. Parents, don't be naive. Your children are not the purest animals on the face of the earth. A foul word or two will slip past their lips in high school, perhaps, even sooner. The follies of watching them grow up, I suppose.
A final character summary is for Principal Vernon. Let me just say, his character leaves me laughing every time. Such a sad man and so desperate for power that he will never achieve. He's not all the deep as a character but he provides a much needed adult nemesis for the teenagers.
I think one of the best things about this movie is how relatable it is. It's quite predictable. Each character has a problem at home, in school or in their social life that every other person has. There are no truths revealed that are all that surprising, yet it's still an incredible story. A refreshing take on the connectivity of people. The feeling that it evokes from the viewer, that thought of "this could be me" is what makes it such a good film. The performances are solid and truthful and completely believable. The writing is quick and raw and uncensored. And the simplicity of the location and lack of scene changes, makes what the characters say that much more important and central to the story.
Personally, I think anyone who doesn't see themselves somewhere in this movie is in denial about who they are. There is no possible way you can watch this and not think of yourself as a "Brain", "Athlete", "Basket Case", " Princess" or "Criminal."
It's late. I should get some sleep. I really will try my best to make time to watch more movies and write more entries. Not that lives hinge on the publishing of this blog, but I will do much better in the future for sure.
Thanks again for reading!
Dith
