Voiceover by Lawrence Standifer Stevens

Written by Joseph E. Casanova

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The Breakfast Club launched the careers of five young, talented actors and introduced an anthem for my generation. Now they're re-releasing the movie March 26-31.

It was Spring Break 1985 and my first time to see the movie, The Breakfast Club. It was showing at the Plextex Theater in Pleasanton, Texas, if I recall. And y’know, if we’re going down memory lane again, why not take the scenic route?

The first time I heard its theme song, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” I knew it would be the anthem for my generation and generations to come. That #1 single also propelled Scotland’s Simple Minds into the US mainstream after being staples on Euro rock radio for years.

Now, for its 30th anniversary, the John Hughes’ iconic masterpiece will hit movie theaters again March 26-March 31 in its digitally remastered format. My nephew and I plan to see it at our local Cineplex because watching the edited, watered-down versions on tv don’t compare to experiencing the film’s raw, unapologetic intensity on the big screen.

The Breakfast Club catapulted its young stars, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estévez, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy, into Hollywood infamy as members of “The Brat Pack.” 

Not only is The Breakfast Club one of our favorite movies, but Cole included “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” on his phone’s play list. He even borrowed my 45, which I doubt I’ll ever see again. 

The little film centered on teen angst brought the five high school stereotypes together for Saturday morning detention as punishment for various offenses. The high school principal, brilliantly portrayed by the late Paul Gleason, forced the students to compose an essay describing who they thought they were.

What the five teenagers discover is they have much more in common and are far more than the stereotypes and the respective cliques they represent. To paraphrase a sentence from that notorious essay, each one of us is “a criminal and a princess and an athlete and a brain and a basket case.” Which one are you?