"Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you're crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?
"...And these children
that you spit on
as they try to change their worlds
are immune to your consultations.
They're quite aware
of what they're going through..."
David Bowie
The Breakfast Club is quite possibly the best of the 80s John Hughes "Brat Pack" films. Almost a scientific study of high school life, this film perfectly portrays the ins and outs of 80s high school stereotypes. We have:
The Princess: Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald)
The Athlete: Andrew Clarke (Emilio Estevez)
The Criminal: John Bender (Judd Nelson)
The Brain: Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall)
The Basket Case: Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy)
The film chronicles their interaction with each other during a day in Saturday detention.
QUOTES
Bender (to Vernon): "Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?"
Andrew (to Bender): "Speak for yourself."
Bender: "Do you think I'd speak for you? I don't even know your language."
Bender (to Vernon): "How come Andrew gets to get up? If Andrew gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy!"
Bender (to Carl the janitor): "I just wanna know how one becomes a janitor because Andrew here is very interested in pursuing a career in the custodial arts."
(lunchtime)
Bender (to Vernon): "Excuse me, Dick. I mean, Rich. Will milk be made available to us?"
Claire: "I have a really low tolerance for dehydration."
Andrew: "I've seen her dehydrate, sir, it's pretty gross."
Andrew (to Bender): "You don't have any goals."
Bender: "Oh but I do."
Andrew: "Yeah?"
Bender: "I wanna be just like you. I figure all I need is a lobotomy and some tights."
Brian: "You wear tights?"
Andrew: "I wear the required uniform."
Brian: "Tights."
Andrew: "Shut up."
Vernon (to Bender): "Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns."
Bender (to Brian): "But face it. You're a neo maxi zoom dweebie, what would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen?"
(enacting a scene from his home)
Bender [as his father]: "Stupid, worthless, no-good goddamn freeloading son of a b*tch. Retarded big-mouthed know-it-all as*hole jerk."
Bender[as his mother: "You forgot ugly, lazy, and disrespectful..."
Bender[as his father]: "Shut up, bitch! Go fix me turkey pot pie!"
Vernon: "What was that ruckus?"
Andrew: "Uh, what ruckus?"
Vernon: "I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus!"
Andrew: "If I lose my temper you're totalled, man."
Bender: "Totally?"
Andrew: "Totally."
Brian: "I'm a f*cking idiot because I can't make a lamp?"
Bender: "No. You're a genius because you can't make a lamp."
Bender: "Screws fall out all the time. The world's an imperfect place."
Claire: "Excuse me, sir. Who would want to steal a screw?"
Compiled by Kelly
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