The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club (1985)

  • 91% of critics liked it
    (44 reviews)

  • 90% of users liked it
    (470,659 ratings)

John Hughes wrote and directed this quintessential 1980s high school drama featuring the hottest young stars of the decade. Trapped in a day-long Saturday detention in a prison-like school library are Claire, the princess (Molly Ringwald); Andrew, the jock (Emilio Estevez); John, the criminal (Judd… More

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R,
Directed By
Written By
John Hughes
Genres
Drama, Comedy
In Theaters
May 15, 1985 Wide
On DVD
Sep 2, 2003
Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Michael Booth, Denver Post

    In nine hours of threatening, bickering and, eventually, poignant (but never maudlin) self-revelation, the stereotypes dissolve and re-form.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    John Hughes's 1985 film seems meant to explain 80s youngsters to yesterday's youth, and comes to the comforting conclusion that they're just as alienated, idealistic, and vulnerable as the baby boomers of the 1960s.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Does director John Hughes really believe, as he writes here, that 'when you grow up, your heart dies.' It may. But not unless the brain has already started to rot with films like this.

  • , Time Out

    An iconic movie of the '80s, with all the unappealing baggage that suggests.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    The Breakfast Club doesn't need earthshaking revelations; it's about kids who grow willing to talk to one another, and it has a surprisingly good ear for the way they speak.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Chris W


    Quintessential John Hughes and a classic of the 1980's. Very iconic and memorable. Required viewing. PERIOD. The set up is simple: five teens from different social cliques and backgrounds spend a Saturday in detention together and begin to see that they have more in common than… More

  • Jens S


    review coming.

  • Matthew Samuel M


    Powerful and iconic, The Breakfast Club is a well-filmed, well-acted, and quite entertaining coming-of-age film that is, to this day, surprisingly and effectively relatable.

  • Mike S


    To the soaring, cult-laden tunes of "Don't You Forget About Me" by 80's sensation Simple Minds, this unforgettable classic by the late great John Hughes, gave a voice to an entire generation and yet continues to resonate among teenagers everywhere. Plot-wise,… More

  • Paulo G


    Often funny and easy to relate to, The Breakfast Club captures the nature and essence of being caught within the entrapment of pressure and stereotypes during teenage years. It tackles the society's imposition of a high school hierarchy in a meaningful and heartfelt way, but that… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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