OK, 1980s high school grads, the Breakfast Club reunites

[Flaxbee]

(except for Emilio Estevez) for the 25 year anniversary of the movie and a John Hughes tribute:

Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson

Memories. I actually saw that movie with my PARENTS (dad is a psychiatrist and wanted to see it).

[silverlib]

1. One of the all-time great movies...

Thanks for the pic!

[snooper2]

6. actually, one of the all-time most over-rated movies

nt

[woo me with science]

21. A paean to self-absorption and victimhood,

reflective of the decade.

[zipplewrath]

23. Reflective of high school

You basically just described every generation of teenagers that's ever existed. Which means the movie was not only dead on, but timeless. There was also an interesting breakdown of the parallels between the characters, and those standard characters from the "alcoholic family" models.

[woo me with science]

31. I really disagree with that.

Self-absorption and victimhood were not seriously celebrated in young people and promulgated in the popular culture until the late 70's and into the 80's and 90's. Teens in the preceding decades were much more attuned to political and social issues outside of themselves (think of the war generation, hippies, and the peace and civil rights movements) than to their own victimhood.

The 80's and the 90's bred navel gazing and self-pity across the popular culture in a way we had never seen before. We had Oprah and her clones booking the weepiest guests they could find, John Bradshaw was discovering those "alcoholic family models" and opining that 90 percent of families were "dysfunctional," and the media began churning out those god-awful Lifetime Network-type "victim-of-the-week" movies that are still being rerun today. Pop psychology navel gazing became an industry, and teens were a major part of their audience.

The culture changed again a lot after 9/11, when people rediscovered that their own navels were not necessarily the most important thing in the world. That is why a show like "Seinfeld," which was based entirely on self-absorption as a theme, is already so dated. In my experience, most young people today DO have a sense of the world beyond their own pathos. They do not compare to 1984 when it comes to self-pity.

[zipplewrath]

43. I think you have to focus on age.

Go into a high school and pay attention to the target population, those between about 14 to 17. You will find students with a world view. But the VAST majority of students can't see beyond their own locker. They worry about all the same things that students always worry about. What they wear, who their friends are. Who likes them. Who's cool, who's not. The style and language changes, but the basic emotions remain the same.

[snooper2]

37. you ever watch "Dazed and Confused"?

?

[OrwellwasRight]

35. I didn't know anybody agreed with me on that.

The stereotypes were so cardboard. Popular girl was stupid. Smart kid was a geek and hated, etc. I found my real high school much more nuanced. Cheerleaders in honors classes. Jocks who hung out with druggies, etc.

Better off Dead is far superior, funnier, because it is more over the top and not even trying to portray "reality."

[Book Lover]

38. Word

I hated it when I saw it in the theatre, and I hate it today. Stupid and useless.

[LiberalAndProud]

2. My granddaughter discovered Breakfast Club on Netflix, and connected immediately.

It was nice to discover that it connects across generations.

[jobycom]

4. My teen and her friends love it.

A true classic.

[PVnRT]

5. That's because it really is timeless

The stereotypes of the students, the interaction between them, and their insecurities really don't change with time.

[jobycom]

3. And the scrawny kid turns out the most rugged looking.

Ally still has that little kid sparkle in her eyes, doesn't she?

[PassingFair]

7. And Molly still has that surprised codfish look.

Can't stomach her at all.

[jobycom]

8. She was okay for that role.

She had that belladonna eye thing that was so popular, and she tried to keep it going way too long. Never had a lot of range, but her one role worked with a good director. Andrew McCarthy had that same wide-eyed look. When they acted together, you left the theater craving eyedrops.

[PassingFair]

9. And dry mouth.

Did she EVER fully close that maw?



She was so BAD in "The Stand", that I ended up
rooting for the DEVIL.

[jobycom]

11. Ha! She even has some sex scene as an adult...

I don't remember anything about the movie, it wasn't any good. One of those "Look at your teen idol all grown up and getting naked" kind of exploitation films. She was on a sailboat and I think she was topless on top of the guy. All I remember from the movie is her wide eyes and open mouth--you couldn't tell the difference between her acting like she was in orgasmic passion and her acting like she was upset about her makeup joke getting laughed at. :rofl:

[PassingFair]

12. That's what I'm talkin' bout! n/t

[seabeyond]

45. totally off the wall.... quaterbacks manning brothers. told hubby the other might, their mama

never taught them to CLOSE their mouth. both men, there mouths always hung open a little. what is that.

[Crystal Clarity]

10. LOL! "surprised codfish look"

:rofl: Yeah she does, now that you mention it. :freak: Good description!

[gmoney]

13. gee, what was Emilio doing that he couldn't make it?

Waiting to stand in for Charlie Sheen while he's in prison?

[jobycom]

14. In Spain. directing his father in a movie startlingly like a novel I planned to write.

Bastard. The film also stars Deborah Unger, who I've had erotic fantasies about for decades.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/

(Mine is going to be set in medieval Europe instead of modern Europe, though, so maybe no one will notice.

[WolverineDG]

16. I'm aching for that movie to be released in the US

it's received good reviews from Toronto & among the pilgrimage crowd. I was on the Camino last year while they were filming & saw the 2nd units out & about from time to time. Other pilgrims got lucky & were either hired as extras or just got to sit around & talk with Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez. My friend was asked by Sheen if the cast looked authentic enough & she told him "No, your clothes & shoes are too clean & your packs are too big." :rofl: Hollywood. But other than those 2 things, the pilgrims I know who have seen the movie say it comes the closest of any other movie (including documentaries) of showing the experience.

dg

[jobycom]

19. Cool. Thanks for the review.

I had never heard of the movie until I got curious why Emilio wasn't in the picture and looked him up. Always thought he was the talented one of the brothers--more like his dad than Charlie is. Now I've got all kinds of reasons to see it.

Serious question: I never realized the old pilgrimage was still going on (I'm more of a medieval guy). What's it about? Is it a Catholic thing still, or historical, or a more vaguely spiritual thing?

[WolverineDG]

25. Yes, it's still going on (long)

it almost died out, were it not for a priest in the 80's who went from town to town to ask the elderly where the "Camino" was. He didn't have any money to make way markers, so he went from the highway department which gave him all the left-over paint they had---which was yellow. He then began painting yellow arrows in any & all conceivable places--trees, walls, fence posts, sidewalks. So today, almost 30 years later, all pilgrims on all routes to Santiago look for yellow arrows & the yellow arrow is considered to be one of "the" symbol of the Camino, second only to the sea shell which is the symbol of St. James.

All are welcome to walk the Camino & all do---Catholics, Protestants, Jews (yes, you read that right), agnostics, pagans (the Camino Frances is thought to be a very ancient trail to the "end of the earth"), Buddhists, Hindus, atheists (nicer than the DU variety, btw)--but there is no mistaking that the underlying reason for the pilgrimage is a religious one. There is no official "starting point," but most walking the Camino Frances (the Camino in the film) start in St. Jean Pied du Port in France. You can start at any point you want to, but to get the coveted "compostela," you have to walk at least 100 km. If you want to walk the Frances, this means you need to start at or before the town of Sarria. No one demands to know what religion you are or demands you go to Mass, in fact it is considered rude to demand those things. However, everyone does talk about *why* they are walking--like you, I'm a medieval history geek & I wanted to get as close an experience to medieval life as I could, doubly so when I saw that the Shell was placed on an ancestor's coat of arms, permissible only if that person had made the pilgrimage to Santiago. Some walk because they don't have anything better to do, others because it's a good way to get immersed in Spanish culture & life, & there are many who do it for religious reasons.

The best website for information on all the caminos is this one: http://www.caminodesantiago.me/ (click on Camino Forum & you can see all the posts & forums available, but to see Pilgrim Introductions you have to register--it's free).

dg

[Tuesday Afternoon]

32. butting in here to say thanks for the info and links.

the camino is on my bucket list.

[WolverineDG]

33. any questions, ask away :) edited to add

although there's been a lot of new construction lately, the Camino Frances & the towns it goes through are essentially the same as medieval pilgrims saw & walked through. Northern Spain has long been ignored by the rest of the country, so many cities still have their medieval footprints in place. The churches & streets you walk on are the same. There are also stretches that were put in place by the Romans & I swear have not been touched by maintenance since. A "bridge" just outside the city of Estella that is in such a state of disrepair it is damn near impassable, and this 17.6 km stretch from Hell: http://750pints.blogspot.com/2009/09/so-why-dont-you-write-about-that-in.html & the follow-up post: http://750pints.blogspot.com/2009/09/and-now-word-from-hape-kerkeling.html

dg

[Tuesday Afternoon]

34. thanks -- I am sure I have questions...

I am bookmarking this to read and study later. May I PM you at some later time. I will probably never get the opportunity to walk it but I do find the idea fascinating.

[WolverineDG]

36. not a problem :) nt

[jobycom]

50. Mine, too! See you there!

:)

[jobycom]

49. I like long. I don't understand the point of short.

Thanks. I'm a medieval history major, too, and studied the interactions of Islam and Christianity during the middle ages, so of course the pilgrimage and St James were big parts of that. Now I know what I want to do next summer... must start looking into it.

Odd question for another novel I have to finish one day--is this something someone could do in a wheelchair? Are these literally old paths, or just old routes that take advantage of new paths? I'm going to read your link and research, but I'll ask anyway. :)

And I am a DU atheist, though I hope I'm a nice variety. :)

[blueamy66]

39. Oh please....

he's a millionaire that could buy a jet to get to the reunion.

My friends and I LOVED that movie....we even took our teacher to see it....and he loved it as well.

Get over yourself Emilio.

[Bucky]

40. Seriously?

He's managing a multi-million-dollar project in Spain--but you're well informed enough on how busy that would make him that you can just say "Get over yourself and lose two days out of the middle of the work week to go make a one hour photo op"?

Making snap judgments about other people's priorities without any facts to back them up is so 21st Century.

[blueamy66]

42. Don't get so worked up about people we'll never meet.

Geesh.

[Bucky]

44. I will take your advice.

I will take the advice of the person who wrote "Oh please.... he's a millionaire that could buy a jet to get to the reunion. Get over yourself Emilio." not to get worked up about people we'll never meet. Thank you for your cogent advice.

[blueamy66]

47. You're very welcome.

Anything else I can do for ya?

[jobycom]

48. And if he did that you'd whine that he wasted all the fuel for a one hour photo shoot.

Get over yourself, blueamy66. :P

[Amaril]

15. 25 years? Really?

Shit we're getting old.

[NewJeffCT]

18. I know - June 1985 was when I graduated high school

that does make me feel old.

[seabeyond]

46. Shit we're getting old.... ha ha ha. i was gonna post the same. nt

[Fire Walk With Me]

17. There were, stunningly, actual moments of truth in that film.

A shock from Hollywood.

[woo me with science]

20. Anthony Michael Hall looks a little like a young Anthony Hopkins there. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

41. I was thinking that he has a Steve McQueen look about himself, must be the eyes ...

:o high praise, really. Steve ~sigh~

[Deep13]

22. Looking good, folks!

Especially those two hot ladies!

[ceile]

24. 25 years?

Wow. They all look pretty good too. AMH turned into quite the hottie.

[newcriminal]

26. Doesn't AMH have some kind of cancer now?

[LiberalAndProud]

28. I hadn't heard that. Are you thinking of Michael C Hall? (Dexter)

[newcriminal]

29. Maybe, you never know with me. I'm not good with names at all.

[kayakjohnny]

27. Wow, Ally Sheedy is still absolutely adorable.

:loveya:

Where's a smooch smilie when you need one?

[carlyhippy]

30. Love this movie

I was sooooooooooooooo in love with Judd Nelson, he was hot in this movie and hot in St Elmos' fire....whew...

[Dappleganger]

51. Molly Ringwald still looks amazing.

My sister is her virtual twin, except my sis is thinner and has blue eyes.