History Film / TheBreakfastClub

** At the beginning of the movie, Andy and Bender can't stand each other, but Andy still contains his smile when Bender asks Vernon "Does Music/BarryManilow know you raid his wardrobe?" and later cracks up when Bender tells Vernon that his dope can't be on fire because it's in Brian's underwear.

--> Stick to things you know - shopping, your father's BMW and your [[LadyDrunk drunk mother]]. And forget being concerned about us walking down the hall together. It won't ever happen. Bury your head in the sand and wait for your prom.

** At the beginning of the movie, Andy and Bender can't stand each other, but Andy still [[Main/{{Corpsing}} contains his smile]] when Bender asks Vernon "Does Music/BarryManilow know you raid his wardrobe?" and later cracks up when Bender tells Vernon that his dope can't be on fire because it's in Brian's underwear.

* PantyShot: When Bender hides under Claire's desk. Shoved right in your face, too. And his, albeit of his own volition.
** Interesting to note that the only discernible reason the front of the table would be covered is to provide Bender a place to hide, and to give him the opportunity for the above mentioned panty-shot (which actually shouldn't be visible given the length of Claire's skirt, unless she chose to hike it up past her knees when she sat down).

* MoralDissonance: Brian's speech that he wouldn't reject any of the others in front of his friends is famous, and when he delivers it he's 100% sincere, but what he fails to remember, and what none of the others call him out on, is that he's already been guilty of this sort of thing. When Carl the janitor gives him a friendly "hello" in the detention room in front of the other kids, Brian's reaction is silence and a facial expression that says "why are you talking to me?" His attitude has changed by the end of the film, as evidenced by when he does acknowledge Carl, but it's telling that he's already rejected a friend and doesn't even seem to realize it.

* HollywoodDressCode: Downplayed; for instance, Brian does not wear glasses to signal that he is a nerd, and Bender does not wear a leather jacket. It has been mentioned on the [=DVD=] that they wanted the characters to have some originality from their cliques.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Andy and Bender look way too old to be high schoolers.

* BerserkButton:
** Andy presses Bender's when he accuses him of lying about his abusive home life.
** The first time Brian actually becomes ''very'' angry throughout detention is when Claire tells him he doesn't know what it's like to feel the pressure.

* UnusualEuphimism: Allison is called a "basketcase" (crazy person).

** While he's antagonistic and unneccessarily harsh, and while it's doubtful that Vernon has any deep concern for what ultimately happens to Bender (or any of the others for that matter), most of Vernon's comments to Bender, at least until he locks Bender in the storage closet, could be taken this way.

** Interesting to note that the only discernible reason the front of the table would be covered is to provide Bender a place to hide, and to give him the opportunity for the above mentioned panty-shot (which actually shoudln't be visible given the length of Claire's skirt, unless she chose to hike it up past her knees when she sat down).

* SpeechCentricWork: This film is almost entirely dialogue. It takes place in a Library. Libraries are collections of words - [[RuleOfSymbolism just like dialogue]].

** At the beginning of the movie, Andy and Bender can't stand each other, but Andy still [[Main/{{Corpsing}} contains his smile]] Bender asks Vernon "Does Music/BarryManilow know you raid his wardrobe?" and later cracks up when Bender tells Vernon that his dope can't be on fire because it's in Brian's underwear.

** At the beginning of the movie, Andy and Bender can't stand each other, but Andy still cracks up when Bender asks Vernon "Does Music/BarryManilow know you raid his wardrobe?"

* BaitAndSwitch: The shot of Bender crawling atop a drop ceiling will make anybody familiar with construction or engineering groan a bit, [[ArtisticLicenseEngineering another example of that cliche]]... then he falls right through it.

* RealityEnsues:
** The shot of Bender crawling atop a drop ceiling will make anybody familiar with construction or engineering groan a bit, [[ArtisticLicenseEngineering another example of that cliche]]... then he falls right through it.
** When Bender and Andy are about to fight (with the latter letting him know how one-sided it would be), the former dismisses him and tries to strike the first blow...only to be ''quickly'' taken down by his opponent, a talented school wrestler.

* NotSoDifferent: The five students slowly come to realize this about each other over the course of the movie. Andy's rant about his obsessive and borderline abusive father makes Brian cry and Bender remark that their fathers should get together and go bowling.

-->-- closing narration of the group's epilogue letter

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Allison, the tomboyish basket case, and Claire, the girly princess.

* BreakfastClub / TheBreakfastPlot: The TropeNamer. The point of the movie is that they all learn they have much more in common with each other than they think, and are much more capable of being friends and understanding each other than they knew.
* TheBreakfastClubPosterHomage: TropeMaker; the poster is a common thing to parody.

->'''Brian Johnson: '''Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us -- in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is [[{{Nerd}} a brain]]...\\
'''Andrew Clark: '''... and [[JerkJock an athlete]] ...\\
'''Allison Reynolds: '''... and [[LonersAreFreaks a basketcase]] ...\\
'''Claire Standish: '''... [[AlphaBitch a princess]] ...\\
'''John Bender: '''... and [[{{Delinquents}} a criminal]].\\
'''Brian Johnson:''' Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, [[TitleDrop the Breakfast Club]].
-->-- closing narration of the group's {{epilogue letter}}

[[caption-width-right:310:[[{{Tagline}} They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.]]\\

They were five total strangers, with nothing in common,\\

they never dreamed possible.[[/labelnote]]]]

''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 {{dramedy}} film written and directed by Creator/JohnHughes, a legend in the teen movie genre. Its five principal actors -- Creator/MollyRingwald, Creator/AnthonyMichaelHall, Creator/EmilioEstevez, Creator/JuddNelson and Creator/AllySheedy -- would become part of the "Creator/BratPack", a group of actors whose careers in the 1980s revolved around playing teens in popular movies with each other. This group also included Creator/RobLowe, Creator/AndrewMcCarthy, and Creator/DemiMoore.

Of all the teen movies to come out of the [[TheEighties 1980s]], this was the one that ultimately defined the era and blazed the trail which, along with ''Film/SixteenCandles'', would lead to the true formation of the Creator/BratPack. ''The Breakfast Club'' follows the journey of [[FourTemperamentEnsemble five teenagers]] who have all landed themselves a [[DetentionEpisode Saturday detention]] at their {{high school}}. During the course of the day, they are characterized by their cliques, harassed by angry vice principal Richard "Dick" Vernon, and aided by friendly school janitor Carl... all while coming to learn a little about themselves, and each other.

-->-- the group's {{epilogue letter}}