Teen movies nowadays just don't hit the same as they did in the '80s. You had iconic movies like Footloose, Pretty in Pink, The Outsiders, Heathers, Sixteen Candles and Can't Buy Me Love all releasing in theaters during that time. But if we had to say what our favorite teen flick from the '80s is, it would hands down be the coming-of-age film The Breakfast Club. The late John Hughes, the filmmaker behind The Breakfast Club, just knew how to make a good teen movie. I mean, he's the same creative genius behind the box-office hit Sixteen Candles. However, The Breakfast Club is easily Hughes' best teen movie if you ask us!
The Breakfast Club is the type of movie you can always go back and rewatch. Fortunately, our favorite streamer just recently added the film back to its platform. Yes, you read that right. You can stream the 1 hour and 37-minute movie right now on Netflix. It is best that you get to watching it soon since it's a licensed film. This means it will eventually depart the streamer once its departure date comes. As of June 5, Netflix hasn't set a departure date yet. However, we'll make sure to share it once the streamer does.
The classic teen flick centers around five teenagers from different high school social cliques who are forced to serve an all-day Saturday detention supervised by their strict and authoritative vice principal. While they don't initially get along, the students begin to open up to each other as they spend more time together. By the end of the detention, they find themselves forming unexpected friendships. The group of teens is made up of an athlete, a rebellious troublemaker, a popular girl, an academic overachiever, and a shy loner.
Golden Globe nominee Molly Ringwald, best known for starring in the '80s flicks Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink, plays the role of popular girl and princess Claire Standish. Emilio Estevez, who many people might recognize from starring in The Outsiders, portrays the role of athlete and wrestling star Andrew Clark. St. Elmo's Fire star Judd Nelson plays the rebel, John Bender, while Edward Scissorhands actor Anthony Michael Hall portrays the brainy and socially awkward Brian Johnson. Last, we have Fear's Ally Sheedy playing the role of the loner, Allison Reynolds.
The critically acclaimed film was a box-office hit, grossing $51.5 million against a $1 million budget. Here's what some critics had to say about The Breakfast Club via Rotten Tomatoes:
"The film is an extraordinarily well-blended mix of humor, heartbreak, and anger as each character displays a pantheon of raw emotions"Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
"[Hughes] understands adolescents as well as anyone who has ever made movies about them, and he has a fluent way with young actors. In this picture, his dramatic ideas may be cheesy, but Hughes still manages to create some excitement and laughs."David Denby
The Breakfast Club is now streaming on Netflix. Will you be watching the teen flick?