Back to trending
The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

Comedy · Drama · 1985

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Movie details

The Breakfast Club

“They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.”

1985 Comedy · Drama 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Breakfast Club?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Rushmore

Rushmore

Comedy · 1998

When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.

Dazed and Confused

Dazed and Confused

Comedy · 1993

The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.

Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade

Comedy · 2018

Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.

Family Weekend

Family Weekend

Comedy · 2013

A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

Class Act

Class Act

Comedy · 1992

Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is ajuvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up with their school records, everyone thinks each is the other one. Now, Duncan kind of likes the attention from being thought of as a real bad dude, if only the school bully would stop trying to rough him up. And Blade definitely likes being thought of as important instead of as trouble.

Landline

Landline

Comedy · 2017

A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

Palindromes

Palindromes

Comedy · 2005

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.

SubUrbia

SubUrbia

Comedy · 1997

A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.

The Wild Life

The Wild Life

Comedy · 1984

Eighties teen romp involving Bill and his new apartment, Jim and his rebellious antics, Tom and his crazy self, and Anita with her older man David.

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Comedy · 1990

Movie star Roxy Carmichael is abandoning the bright lights of Hollywood, Calif. and returning to her small Ohio hometown -- at least long enough to dedicate a city building. And now the whole town of Clyde is bracing for Carmichael's return, most of all her now-married old flame Denton Webb and troubled teen Dinky Bossetti. An orphan with few friends, Dinky is convinced that Carmichael is her birth mother, and that the actress will reclaim her when she returns.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Hughes

Written by

John Hughes

Emilio Estevez

Emilio Estevez

Andrew Clark

Judd Nelson

Judd Nelson

John Bender

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald

Claire Standish

Anthony Michael Hall

Anthony Michael Hall

Brian Johnson

Ally Sheedy

Ally Sheedy

Allison Reynolds

Paul Gleason

Paul Gleason

Richard Vernon

John Kapelos

John Kapelos

Carl

Court is in session

Put The Breakfast Club on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.