Arts Features

Reflections From The Breakfast Club

By Amy Somensky Nov 29, 2004, 1:19 GMT

I am not of the so called “Breakfast Club” generation, having not been a teenager in the 80s. I didn’t grow up with Madonna, Tears For Fears, or The Breakfast Club. The only real connection I have with 80s pop culture is through my older brother. Even after that, I can still identify with the teens from the 80s, specifically the ones portrayed in the film, The Breakfast Club, or any generation for that matter because I was a teen. Perhaps it is that identification that keeps the film in our minds, and is a source of reflection and nostalgia for most people.

Which teenager were you?

I know you have all said, “I knew a guy just like that,” or even “I am that girl.” Whether it is the spoiled pretty princess, the jock, the nerd, the misunderstood loner, the rebel, or someone totally different. My teenage life certainly fits into one of those categories, although I decline to admit which one.

The film starred Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, and Judd Nelson. All of which were icons during the John Hughes film years, and fit into the typical teenage categories. Each of them was given detention. Once they are together they discuss their social status, misrepresentation, and deepest fears and secrets. Together they break barriers and form new social groups where nerds and jocks or popular girls and loners become friends. It would be a wonderful thing, if it happened, which is a long shot. Perhaps that is another reason why the film holds such a place in our collective hearts. The idea that there could be a time when schools are not divided along lines of gender, popularity, and looks. The idea that no one would be isolated or left out is very appealing. I wonder though if deep down a loner wishes to be popular, a nerd wants to be a jock, or gasp! The opposite. I think they just want to be who they are and be accepted.

It’s the “been there, done that” attitude that remains and leaves the teenager inside of you wondering what could have been different, and the longing to go back to that time.

Me, being a arts and theatre fan (maybe that will give you a sense of what category I fall into), have wondered why a stage version of this film has never been attempted…until now that is.

A parody of the classic film is coming to New York City. You See Us as You Want to See Us… Reflections from the Breakfast Club will play the Kraine Theater on Friday and Saturday nights from December 10th through January 29th. The theater is located at 85 East 4th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Tickets can be purchased through www.smarttix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. Monsters and Critics readers get a special discount rate of $20. Be sure to mention the code ALLY when ordering.

Detention begins at 10:45 pm on the dot, so don’t be late and take some time to reflect.

Stay tuned for the M&C review coming soon!