The Breakfast Club

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1:25

The Breakfast Club

R

Released Feb 15, 1985

1h 32m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

112 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

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.

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Critics Consensus

If The Breakfast Club's gestures towards authenticity are occasionally undercut by trendy flourishes, its blistering emotional honesty and talented troupe of young actors catapult it to the top of the teen comedy class.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

The film behaves as if it's dealing in soul-baring insights and emotional deepening. But it's only dealing in plastic. It's rare to encounter such unfailing falseness in a movie that seems to have been launched with benign intentions.

Feb 14, 2025

Full Review

Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I suspect all these kids are going somewhere, and Hughes, of course, is already there.

Feb 14, 2025

Full Review

Rob Salem

Toronto Star

Hughes is clearly of the impression that he knows a lot about kids and the way they think. He is, for the most part, mistaken... Yet this is a movie well worth seeing, if only for the performances, which are without exception excellent.

Feb 14, 2025

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

No list of the best teen films or best films of the 1980s is complete without including The Breakfast Club.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 18, 2025

Full Review

Patrick Taggart

Austin American-Statesman

I can't remember ever wanting to applaud at the end of a movie, but the only reason I didn't after The Breakfast Club is that I was practically paralyzed with excitement. With this rousing new film... the Hollywood youth film finally comes of age.

Feb 14, 2025

Full Review

George Williams

Sacramento Bee

It's almost worth sitting through a hundred of those exploitative, lame-brained teen farces in order to get to the warm and authentic intimacy of The Breakfast Club. It's a grand payoff.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 14, 2025

Full Review

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best movie ever

Best Movie ever made. Rip John Hughes

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/01/24

Full Review

Jo S

Best movie of ALL time!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/22/21

Full Review

Everett G

One of my personal favorite movies ever

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

Full Review

Horror fan 4

The greatest John hughes Movie!! This is a great story filled with delightfuly emotional characters who all have problems at home. The scene where there all talking in a great is the best. A Masterpiece. Tim Treakle

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/08/25

Full Review

Mitch B

One of the best comng of age movies ever made.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/25

Full Review

Kar H

The best 80’s movie ever. It’s dark and funny and sad and perfectly captures a day in detention in an affluent school in Chicago. It is inappropriate in today’s society, but that is what makes it amazing. The entire cast is excellent, but Judd Nelson as Bender, made the film truly epic. I have watched it so many times- I don’t care to count.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/03/25

Full Review

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John Hughes

Director

Emilio Estevez

Andrew "Andy" Clark

Molly Ringwald

Claire Standish

Judd Nelson

John Bender

Paul Gleason

Principal Richard Vernon

Anthony Michael Hall

Brian Ralph Johnson

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Bender Mocks Claire

2:57

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Lunchtime

2:59

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Andrew and Bender Fight

2:27

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Covering for Bender

3:00

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Eat My Shorts

3:00

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Social Clubs

2:58

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Don't Mess With the Bull

3:00

The Breakfast Club: Official Clip - Getting to Know Each Other

2:59

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The Breakfast Club: Trailer 1

1:25

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Synopsis

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.

Director: John Hughes
Producer: Ned Tanen, John Hughes
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 15, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Runtime: 1h 32m

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