Falling For the First Time (Talkin' THE BREAKFAST CLUB with The Movie Ness)

I had a conversation recently about the movies of my youth, and found myself wondering aloud how well they held up. My hypothesis was that the two teen comedies that likely still held up were FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF and THE BREAKFAST CLUB.

So the challenge went forth - find a film literate peson who'd never seen these films, have them finally watch them, and see what they thought. (Sidebar: Part of me wants to do this with older classics too down the line).

The first volunteer was Vanessa from The Movie Ness, who dragged herself to school on a Saturday to serve detention with the Breakfast Club. Take a look at our conversation below.

Hatter: So, what did you think?

Ness: It's a fun movie and I guess the questions about life that its posing are still valid now but to be able to count it among your favourite movies, it will have to be seen by a younger person. If you showed this film to a 10-13 year old now, I think they'd still love it. I would've!

Hatter: So it holds up as a good film. That's good to know. It's more of a pop culture classic than a "classic film", so you're right - some of its appeal comes with thinking back to younger days. What still works about the movie?

Ness: The hairstyles! Jokes aside, I liked the dynamic between the characters. How these "enemies" become friends by being forced to spend time with each other and getting to know each other. I always like the idea of setting a whole movie in one room. It really highlights the actual story because there are no distractions.

For this particular film, it is absolutely essential. These kids are forced to spend time together against their own will. They would have never even spoken to one another if it was otherwise.

Hatter: That whole device of keeping things in one room brings the focus back to the script, which is what drew in so many people my age when we were younger. It felt like these kids were talking the way we talked. Does it still seem that way?

Ness: I could have probably identified with the characters when I was a child or teenager. Actually that's not exactly true. I don't think I ever had those kinds of conversations with anyone but I always thought that other kids must have had them. Maybe I was just never forced to spend a day with kids I originally didn't like

Hatter: Very few of us were. I'm sure I'm overlooking some of its shortcomings through my rose-coloured glasses. What doesn't work in the movie?

Ness: I did feel like the characters were too much of a cliché. The opening credits even state that they are all clichés. And I know that they say it, to prove the teacher wrong but they keep being clichés. I wasn't surprised to find out that they all had problems at home and that all of them were different to what they appear to be. I think that if they remade the movie today, it would be a bit more subtle. The end is a bit quick which was surprising. All the sudden kissing at the end, in front of the parents is a bit strange and out of context.

Hatter: It's over twenty years old, which can sometimes be death for this sort of movie. Does it feel dated?

Ness: Visually - yes, very! It is clearly made in the 80s and the style of cinematography, costumes and all that have changed considerably.

As for the plot, the story is told in a somewhat slower way. In modern films of a similar genre it seems like they dont take as much time. There is so much crying and laughing and dancing and just listening to music in this film which would have definitely be cut now.

I don't think the story itself is dated. Kids still have the same problems with their parents and trying to find boy/girlfriends and all that. I think kids grow up a lot faster now so maybe these kids in the film would have to be a bit younger in a 2010 version.

Hatter: Perhaps, but Hollywood still seems to cast actors that are too old to be high school students. Some things never change. Anything else about it not work for you?

Ness: The ending. It's foreseeable that some of the characters "end up together" but it was very sudden. All that drama and crying and then they walk out of the door holding hands and kissing. Right in front of the parents they dislike so much. I was thinking that those "horrible" parents would have said something. It is clear why the film makers did it. After the climax of revelations and all that crying there had to be the sense of freedom when they "burst" out the door into freedom. But it was way over the top

Hatter: Fair enough. But have you never wanted to be freeze-framed with your fist in the air as Simple Minds wail on the soundtrack?

Ness: That sentence is so 80's.

Hatter: Thanks, I try. Did hype enter into your reaction, because amongst our age group thsi film is more or less "Required Viewing"

Ness: I was pretty unaware of this film. I had heard the title before but it completely passed me by. So, no.

Hatter: Interesting. I had guessed that either you knew most of the story by now (and thus would have nothing to look forward to), or that you'd heard a lot of people our age rave about how much they loved it - making it a bit overhyped.

Ness: I grew up mostly in Europe and the film wasn't that popular there. We had a few amazing kids movies that you will probably never watch. I actually missed a lot of the "classic North American teenager movies". Watched Princess Bride for the first time a couple of months ago, and I absolutely loved The Neverending Story.

Hatter: So on a scale of 1 to 5?

Ness: Seeing it now as an adult...3.5 out of 5