To say that I was obsessed with The Breakfast Club growing up would be an understatement. It's one of five or six movies I've watched more times than any others. I hate watching movies on television (the dubbed over profanity makes my purist self revolt) so I haven't seen it in several years now but it's burned into my brain cells. I was madly in love with Molly Ringwald for two whole years. I obsessed over Ally Sheedy and the simple profundity of "...they ignore me" as chief behavioral, sartorial influence. My best girlfriend and I use to talk about the movie daily, wondering about our future selves...When you grow up, your heart dies....and vowing to remember how we felt in high school if we ever looked back on the movie and felt it wasn't totally brilliant and deserving of multiple Oscars.
Oh, teen angst! You are so hateful to live with and then immediately loveable the second you've moved out.
So for The Breakfast Club alone, I must thank writer/director (and then mostly just writer) John Hughes who passed away today at the age of 59. And that's just one of the great things he gave us. There's also the other indisputable Molly Ringwald classic Sixteen Candles and the choice dialogue and monologues of St. Elmo's Fire which are both godawful and wonderful, often at the same time.I've never quite understood why a director that popular quit so early (at 40 actually... though he continued to write, moving his focus to sequels and franchises) and I'll never understand why people have to die young. But his films or, more accurately, his enormous contributions to pop culture, will live on.
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Hey, as a fellow fan, I wrote this and hope you enjoy it: http://addictivethoughts.com/2009/08/06/john-hughes-1950-2009/
I loved all of his movies, but my favorite one was, ironically, PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. I think that may be his only non-teenage themed film, but I find it to be his most complete, and satisfying film (and a perfect example of how underrated John Candy was as an actor).
My favorite was Ferris Bueller's Day Off. May he rest in peace.
Two weeks ago, a couple teenagers were wrapping up their Summer course at the acting school I run, and their instructors had them do the Sam/Geek scene in the auto shop from Sixteen Candles and I thought, boy that was a really well written scene for young people; so rare to find (and we're constantly on the lookout). I went through a real period of disliking Hughes' teen stuff, but now that I'm "over 40", I see it differently. I always thought he'd make some kind of comeback, but it is not to be. Bueller and Sixteen Candles will always be his best work, imho.
PTAA is also my favorite. I grew up in the 80's but was not quite old enough to be into his teen films. I like them but Candy and Martin together is pure gold.
Agreed, Nat.
I wasn't born until 1985, but I still grew up with his movies having discovered them through VHS and TV. A legend and an icon. The Breakfast Club forever!
I can't count the times me and my brother watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". I still have a little paper saying Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. on my pin board.
Sad day...
John Hughes' passing saddens me as it would someone who was actually born in the 70s.
Aside from Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, 16 Candles... I have a special place in my heart for Some Kind of Wonderful (which he didn't direct but did write and produce). I just love Mary Stuart Masterson in the film. An homage to tomboys everywhere.
rip.
x
I remember seeing The Breakfast Club for the first time in its unedited version. For some reason, I gravitated towards Ally Sheedy's character. I always maintain to this day that Sheedy was more attractive than Molly Ringwald in that movie, though I've warmed to the Claire character in recent viewings. I'm not a child of the 80's so I never understood the nation's obsession with Molly Ringwald. I've seen Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink this past year and, while they're decent movies (I find the character of Dong to be incredibly offensive as an Asian stereotype), I still didn't get it.
But I also remember watching The Breakfast Club on TV and was not prepared for the bastardization of the film by dubbing out the profanities (I had actually seen the TV version first, so I was shocked as to how profane the movie really was). It's funny how I reflect on it now.
My favorite of his films still remains Ferris Bueller. Just the perfect movie to watch on a rainy day or when you're sick. Both of which have occurred to me. I remember first seeing it in high school and falling for it instantly. I still love it every time I see it. RIP, John Huges.
Lovely write-up. I loved The Breakfast Club and enjoyed many of Hughes' other movies.
RIP, Mr. Hughes. You will be missed. :(
There is a link to a remembrance of John Hughes as pen pal over at Movie City News - I also put it here. The MCN lead reads "This Needs To Be True"...I certainly hope it is not a hoax and, if it is, I don't want to know.
The Breakfast Club is one of the rarest animals - the modern movie classic. Even though the fashion and whatnot is dated, that movie rings true to today, is the seminal movie of its generation, and is still picked up and adored by young people today. It was only one of his many great films. RIP John Hughes.
ricki lake... when are you returning to movies?
I think I may have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off more than any other movie. I watched it over and over as a kid and still find it fun and fast-paced today. Sad to hear that we won't get the one more great John Hughes movie I wanted before he passed away.
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