posted
Movie Club - Movie #1 (Sept 2nd - Sept 14th 2008)
Well here is the kick off of the bi-weekly 80's movie club. After debating this for awhile I decided since the kids are going back to school now that we should too. So I was thinking what great 80's high school/college movie would be perfect for us. I wanted to do Fast Times but Valley had just done that great review so I threw that one out. I then threw a few others out because I wanted to make sure it was a movie that most people had or could easily get. So I've decided to go with.....
The Breakfast Club
I hope you are all ok with this. I know it is a movie we have all seen a lot but I wanted to make sure the first one we did started out easy. My hope is we will get more people interested in the movie club early and as we go on we will pick more "non main stream movies." So I say, pretend like you have never seen this movie and get lost in it all over again.
You will have 2 weeks to watch this movie and then post your review on here. I will then pick someone before Sunday (or on Sunday) Sept 14th, based on the reviews. That person will then be in charge of picking our next movie.
posted
Solid choice Gordon. I agree that you should start with a movie that virtually everyone owns or can obtain fairly easily.
Posts: 7845 | From: Smiling and glancing in awe in the back of a limo | Registered: Mar 2003 | Site Updates: 22
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mamamiasweetpeaches
She's with you, but she's thinking of Jake Ryan....
Member # 1715
posted
Good to hear! I hope many more will join in, it should be fun. And two weeks to watch a movie gives plenty of time. Keep coming people!
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posted
Sounds good... Posts: 2729 | From: Kansas City, MO "At the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance" | Registered: Apr 2007 | Site Updates: 9
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posted
I incidentally watched.. or should I say rewatched this one last night. So I can give you my take now... here goes:
This, to me, is THE teen movie of the 80's. Back when those type of movies actually had heart and something to say. back when they were more than a thinly veiled marketing ploy, pimping the new teen pop sensation turned actress or the next empty reality star. Back when they had more to offer than pedestrian, politically correct pandering, masked with lame gross out humour. The characters felt real, with real fears, passions and problems. Not sitcom cardboard cut outs, banging apple pies on the kitchen table, to ensure ticket sales from the lowest common denominator. Sure there were insipid teen flicks back in the 80's as well. But even they usually had more heart and soul than anything done in the genre, in the last ten or so years.
The best teen movies back then, were often made by people, who as well as remembering their own youth, and channeling that, also were in touch with the youth of the time. John Hughes was definitely one of those people, and this movie is probably one of the best examples of that.
The plot is so simple. Five high school stereotypes stuck in detention, forced together by fate, slowly learning that they are not that different after all. No subplots, no curveballs, just a really well done character study, done with immense feeling, warmth, humour and respect. Respect for its characters, and the micro cosmos they exist in. It is well written and well acted, by all involved. It would have to be, since it's mostly just the five teens talking, fighting or goofing around. But there is not one boring second in this film.
These characters are indeed stereotypes, on the outside that is. But all stereotypes are born out of reality, and are usually more complex than what meets the eye. A point this movie drives home, with excellence and subtlety. It doesn't bang you over the head with the idea that we shall all learn to get along, and other after school special creeds of that ilk. It delivers its message through the intricacies of these characters, and lets you make up your own mind.
As cliché as it may sound, I think most people, when watching this film, can see something of themselves in one or more of these characters. So for the majority of the audience, this will probably be an emotional trip back to high school, and who they were at that point in time, and that is no small feat for an 80's teen movie. Nor is it a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
posted
Jaylee, that was a great review. You really hit it on the head. Very well written.
aTomik, yeah, you don't have to do reviews at all. If you just want to get in the discussions that will ensue, that would be great too!
And to everyone else, you don't have to do a review, you could break down a scene or talk about theme or whatever you like. Can't wait to hear more.
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Valley Dated Julie From 'Valley Girl' (allegedly!)
Member # 1322
We accept the fact we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday watching The Breakfast Club for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy for making us enter an essay contest for a job at the Sun Times, especially since we know you already picked Terry Griffith's paper about the nutritional value of our school lunches. Let's face it, you see us as you want to see us..... in the simpliest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is:
a Cobra Kai legbreaker, and a lunch tray smashing school bully, and a triple lindy hating wisetassh.
Does that answer your question?
Sincerely yours,
The William Zabka Club
[ 03. September 2008, 16:52: Message edited by: Valley ]
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80'sRocked Play it Loud, Play it Proud
Member # 6979
posted
I just watched this one not to long ago. I will join in the discussion as well, but not leave a review here. I'll save those for the movies browse page. Besides, I will never beat Jaylee's great writing skills. Posts: 3614 | From: Caught Somewhere in Time.... | Registered: May 2008 | Site Updates: 101
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posted
Thanks for the kind words dudes...! Yeah, not bad for a guy who learned to speak english from watching television But seriously, I wanna hear you guys thoughts on the movie... Does John Bender chap your nads? Would you ever smoke dope that had been in Johnson's underwear? Is Claire really a fat girls name?
[ 04. September 2008, 04:30: Message edited by: JAY LEE ]
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1.) Bender does really get to me at times. I remember people like him in High School that would do anything just to get a rise out a person. And then would always try to act like a rebel to authority figures because it maked them look tough. But in the end you get to see his softer side and you get to see why he does what he does. Every person has a good side, even if they don't show it. That is really why you can't just judge a person until you've walked in their shoes.
2. Boy, that would be a tough call but if it was properly sealed I think I would smoke the dope. If I got to air guitar after that is :-)
3. Claire is a fat girls name for sure. No offense to any Claires out there. Ha.
I still have not got to watch this movie yet but plan to in the next few days. I hope more people will as well.
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posted
In the mean time, got a good question for all of you. What character were you most like in high school and why?
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mamamiasweetpeaches
She's with you, but she's thinking of Jake Ryan....
Member # 1715
posted
I was never like any of those characters. My look was closest to Bender's, but I never had that tough guy attitude. I've never been in a fight in my life and always got along with everybody. I was always into sports my whole life, but never a jock like Andy. I was also pretty smart like Brian, but never geeky or a nerd. I guess you could kind of combine all 3, mix in a little Eddie from Trick or Treat, and a touch of Billy from The Lost Boys.
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posted
I was a mix of Bender and Andrew... yeah, a real *******!
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posted
I would say I was a mix between Andy and Claire. I was the jock but I wasn't really a big a-hole to others. I did have the feeling that I could only hang out with certain people or date certain people because "I was part of the in crowd." Terrible I know. I do have to say that as I got to be a senior I realized that what others thought didn't matter and I hung out with whoever I felt like. It's crazy though how much I can relate to what those two said in many parts of the movie. As many of you probably think, there are a lot of things you would do differently if you could go back in time.
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kevdugp73
He's eating after dark again....
Member # 5978
posted
1) I can sympathize with Bender. I'm a child and youth care counsellor so I often see first hand just what a bad childhood can do to a person. Often times, a tough guy image is a defense mechanism...to keep people at bay...not letting them get close enough because you fear they might inquire about your life. My opinion...their's no such thing as a bad kid...just good kids with bad problems.
2) A bit of a people pleaser in high school, so...I'd smoke it...if everyone else did.
3) Claire....I think it depends on what you associate the name with, for example, if you knew a beauitiful girl your whole life named Claire, you may associate good things with the name...or if you had a Gramma Claire!
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posted
I think this is one of the more important films to come out of the 80's. I mean its like "You want to see what life is like as a teenager, rent this movie, Rebel Without a Cause..and maybe American Graffiti if you want that early 60's vibe".
Its funny, but it doesn't really set out to be funny. Its sort of like a good teen drama that played to a crowd that still had some brains in their heads, and wasn't raised on 30 second sound bytes with the attention span of 8 year olds.
Is there even ONE product placement in that movie? no SPRITE banners or DELL logos on computers in the Library (is there a computer in that library, i can't remember).
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posted
I wasn't like any of those characters either.
I remember when the movie came out...my Uncle thought I looked like Molly Ringwald. It must have been my hair style...cause I never thought we looked anything alike. But, I was never like her. I talked to everybody. I was in the biggest click in school, but it was my own click of people ...
I hung out with mostly guys...and mostly guys from other grades than my own. In 10th grade....my lunch table of friends, was the 9th grade football team. I was one of the only girls that sat there...me and my other friend Kim. My cousin would come over and sit at my table -after she ate- because she had a crush on one of the guys I was friends with...and she thought it was really cool that I didn't care that I was the only girl there...My friend Kim use to leave and go somewhere after she ate...like help grade papers or something...so I socialized with everyone.
I had some nice girlfriends too. My junior year...I sat with a few girls, to eat...then afterwards we could get up and move around the cafeteria....we had a jukebox in our cafeteria...and we had fun. I would go sit with my high school boyfriend's brother and his group of friends...I always got along with guys better than girls.
My brother was super popular...but he was 4 years younger than me...and I never was in high school with him....I graduated when he was just coming in to high school...but my teachers who I was friends with they all looked out for him. He wasn't like anybody in the Breakfast Club either...he was exactly like Corey Haim in Liscense to Drive.
If I had to pick a person in a movie that my personality was like....it would probably be Kris in Private School.
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You know I think we have to give this movie credit (amongst some other 80’s movies) for giving us the character types that have followed in every other teen movie since. The jock, the nerd, the trouble maker, the princess, the cast offs, etc. I believe many people have tried to take this reciepe and put it in their movies but with out as much success.
It is pretty amazing that you can find a bit of yourself in at least one of the characters and for a lot of us. And for many of us we feel like we are exactly like one of the characters. It’s amazing then, the rollercoaster that Mr. Hughes takes you on. He breaks each one down for their faults, and in doing so breaks the viewers down through the character they most associate with. After he makes you feel bad for your faults he builds you back up again. You are given this boost of goodness that sweeps through you and makes you strive to be a better person. This feeling that you should treat everyone better, that you shouldn’t judge, and that people deserve 2nd chances. It’s pretty crazy how this movie makes you feel. That’s what I most admire about The Breakfast Club.
All in all this is a very powerful, emotional, and up lifting film. Something that all kids should see before they enter high school. Although it was made in the 80’s its message, like ability, and relevance still stand strong today.
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posted
Just wanted to give everyone an update. Remember you have until this weekend to watch the movie and get your review/questions/thoughts in. Then I will name someone on Sunday to pick the movie for the next two weeks. Hope more of you can join in!
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