“The Breakfast Club” arrived in theaters on February 15, 1985, and became an almost instant teen classic.
Written and directed by John Hughes, the comedy/drama stars Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, and Anthony Michael Hall as a group of teens stuck in an all-day Saturday detention at their high school where they learn more about themselves and each other and walk away with better understanding.
They bond over frustrating parents, the high school pressures of grades and popularity, and their own insecurities and fears for the future, making for a relatable film for teenagers that has stood the test of time.
Read on to learn more about the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal.
Before Molly Ringwald played popular girl Claire and Ally Sheedy the quirky Allison, the roles were almost reversed. During a 40th anniversary reunion last year at C2E2, Ringwald told the audience, per People, Hughes had talked to her about playing Allison, but she “wanted to play the other part because I felt it was less like me.”
There are also multiple reports that Emilio Estevez was originally set to play criminal Bender, but Hughes couldn’t find anyone he liked to play athlete Andrew, so he took that part while Judd Nelson took the other.
During the C2E2 panel, Ringwald said that John and Joan Cusack auditioned for Bender and Allison, respectively. Other now famous faces interested in roles included “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” star Alan Ruck, Nicolas Cage, and Rick Moranis, who would have played the janitor, but left over creative differences, per Vanity Fair.
The scene where each character explains why they’re in detention is one of the most powerful and emotional in the whole film, and was largely improvised by the actors.
Director of photography Tom Del Ruth told The Huffington Post in 2016, “John was very accepting of suggestions from the actors. He wanted them to feel free and that gave them a lot of latitude. If there was a line or two or even a paragraph that lent itself to the character or enhanced the story, John was would simply rewrite on the spot.”
Director John Hughes makes a brief cameo at the end of the movie as Anthony Michael Hall’s character’s dad. And in the beginning of the film, Hall’s actual mother as the one dropping him off for detention.
