Best Teen Drama Of The ’80s Leaving Netflix
Made up of a handful of Hollywood’s biggest on-the-rise stars, at least one member of the Brat Pack was in most of the teenage hits of the ’80s. Every once in a while, they would form what can only be described as a super-group casting, tossing in a handful of the notable performers into one production and going wild. Now, audiences have a limited window to check out one of the most iconic films of not only the Brat Pack’s but of the ’80s, as The Breakfast Club will be taking its leave from Netflix on September 30.
The Brat Pack In The Breakfast Club
Directed by John Hughes, who had his hand in several of the Brat Pack movies, The Breakfast Club centered around a group of students all from varying social cliques in their high school. While their backgrounds couldn’t be any more different, each of the five teens has something in common – they are stuck in Saturday detention. Throughout the film, audiences watch as perhaps partially through the union they create by sharing a common enemy in the school’s vice principal, the kids realize they’re not so different after all.
A Classic Coming Of Age Story
Starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy, The Breakfast Club saw the actors play an athlete, a brain, a criminal, a princess, and a basket case, respectively. Each of these characters are molded together by the end of the film to teach the vice principal, Paul Gleason’s Richard Vernon, an important lesson about judging people based solely on one aspect of their lives.
Ongoing Pop-Culture Influence
The coming-of-age teen dramedy would become one of the biggest of the decade, earning more than $51 million at the box office against its $1 million production budget. As impressive as the financial payoff was, The Breakfast Club’s stamp on pop culture was an even bigger one. From memorable quotes to the credit song, “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds, and even the final shot of the film which saw Judd Nelson’s rebellious character throw his fist into the sky, everywhere you look, there’s an iconic moment.
John Hughes’ Legendary Run
Whether you realize it or not, John Hughes was behind several of the most beloved movies of the ‘80s and ‘90s with The Breakfast Club marking the director’s sophomore feature-length production. Before that, he stepped out onto the filmmaking scene alongside stars Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall with Sixteen Candles. Even before he was making movies with the Brat Pack, he was writing absolute classics like National Lampoon’s Class Reunion and Vacation, as well as Mr. Mom and Savage Islands.
Don’t You, Forget About … Streaming The Breakfast Club On Netflix
Following his work on The Breakfast Club, Hughes finished out the decade strong with movies like Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Uncle Buck. Primarily moving back into the writers’ room during the ‘90s, we have Hughes to thank for the scripts behind beloved titles of the decade including Home Alone and Dennis the Menace.
For now, audiences can dip back into one of the best decades for teen films as The Breakfast Club will be streaming on Netflix until September 30.
