The Breakfast Club

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: February 15, 1985

DVD Release Date: April 29, 1998

Plot 411: Stuck at Saturday detention, a group of diverse high schoolers peel away the cliquey stereotypes.

Review: Ah, a quintessential Brat Pack movie. I love this one because it uses a mainstream device (stereotypical characters) to prove a profound, though not quite unique, sentiment (that we are more than our appearance and preconceived notions). Five kids are forced to attend a Saturday detention and must spend the entire day with people from differing social spheres. There is the princess Claire (Molly Ringwald), the jock Andy (Emilio Estevez), the bad boy Bender (Judd Nelson), the nerd Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) and the outcast Allison (Ally Sheedy). As the day unfolds, they reveal aspects of themselves to each other and realize that they are not so different after all. The premise is quite simple, but somehow writer/director John Hughes is able to accurately capture the heart of teendom. It's amazing really. All the angst, social fears, attitude and hormones feel real and authentic. The language and even the thought process of the characters seem like they are straight from a teenager. I guess that was part of Hughes' gift.

Watch It: For a classic coming-of-age story that just works.

Skip It: For maybe a different Brat Pack flick - St. Elmo's Fire.

Some Kind Of Wonderful

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: February 27, 1987

DVD Release Date: August 20, 2002

Plot 411: A story of teen angst involving a tomboy who is in love with her best friend.

Review: This is a John Hughes film that I wasn't familiar with until watching He's Just Not That Into You. It's used in the dialogue and there's a small clip in the film so I figured I'd watch the movie to get the whole picture. It was surprisingly good because the characters were all pretty complex, especially for a teen film. The movie stars Mary Stuart Masterson as Watts, a tomboy who is in love with her best friend Keith (Eric Stoltz). Both live their high school lives outside the popular kid's club and are from the wrong side of the tracks. However, Keith is intrigued with Amanda (Lea Thompson), who has been accepted into the club because she's pretty. This is one of those films about searching for one's identity, growing up amidst peer pressure, longing and teen angst. Despite this, the characters, especially the three main ones, are fully developed and you can picture them in kids you grew up with. Their problems, although not particularly important to anyone but them, are issues that all teens face. At the time, these problems are critical to your survival and may seem powerful enough to kill you. I like that the movie doesn't demean teens by downplaying the crucial nature of these life experiences. Again, Hughes seems to capture a time in everyone's lives that usually becomes idyllic or completely forgotten with age and recreates the highly charged atmosphere that was growing up.

Watch It: For a snippet of John Hughes brilliance.

Skip It: If Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles is enough teen angst to last a lifetime.