2. THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)
No matter how much you might recoil at the sight of Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson these days, you must put away your revulsion to appreciate the full wonder of The Breakfast Club. This movie is a cultural pillar for many, many people in their twenties and thirties - and it's not their fault. Although John Hughes's work would eventually deteriorate into unbearable stupidity, leading to atrocities like the Home Alone plague, it was at its zenith with this film. The stereotypical teenagers we know and hate so much today were foreign and fresh when they debuted in The Breakfast Club: there was the popular but unapproachable rich girl (Molly Ringwald), the good-looking jock (Emilio Estevez), the withdrawn weirdo (Ally Sheedy), the outcast rebel (Judd Nelson), and the well-behaved straight-A student (Anthony Michael Hall).
Though those types may be too worn to take seriously now, the dialogue that glues this film together is still tremendously enjoyable. Think about it: the entire movie takes place in essentially one indoor setting over the course of a couple of hours - the only things this film has going for it are the characters and the dialogue. And both are great.
A generation before thirteen-year-old girls spent their weekends watching Titanic 25 times, this is the movie that withstood the same scrutiny by all adolescents. Except this one isn't insipid, saccharin, or infected with the lunatic howlings of Celine Dion. In fact, it has one of the best closing soundtracks of all time - Simple Minds belt out "Don't You Forget About Me" as the pack head their different ways. We'll never forget you guys!
Notes:
- The Breakfast Club won no awards; just the undying affection of every teenager who ever watched it
