Summary
John Hughes’The Breakfast Clubis now regarded as a classic, and to new viewers, it might come as a surprise that it’s rated R, but it earned this rating. John Hughes was responsible for some of the most popular and beloved movies of the 1980s, with his legacy being coming-of-age teen comedies that launched the careers of many successful actors and actresses. Hughes wrote and directed now-classics likeSixteen Candles,Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, andThe Breakfast Club, the latter considered one of his best works and the one that startedthe “Brat Pack”.
The Breakfast Clubfollows five high school students serving a Saturday detention: Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), Claire (Molly Ringwald), Andrew (Emilio Estevez), Allison (Ally Sheedy), and John Bender (Judd Nelson). The group is overseen by principal Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), who wants them to keep quiet and write a 1000-word essay on “who you think you are”. Although they all come from different backgrounds and school cliques, the group ends up bonding and learning they aren’t so different, after all. While it doesn’t sound like a movie that would get an R-rating, there are reasons for it to get it.
10 Harsh Realties Of Rewatching The Breakfast Club, 40 Years Later
The Breakfast Club first premiered 39 years ago, and while it’s a rightful beloved 1980s coming-of-age classic, the movie isn’t without its flaws.
The Breakfast Club’s R-Rating Explained: Language, Sexual Material, Drug Use
The Breakfast Club Has Some Scenes That Earned It An R-Rating
The movie deals with some serious themes and has strong language, depictions of the use of illicit substances, and addresses topics like bullying, sex, suicide, depression, abuse, and more.
According to the Motion Picture Association (MPA),an R-rating is given to content with adult material, thus viewers under 17 should be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Although the premise ofThe Breakfast Clubdoesn’t suggest any content associated with an R-rating, the movie deals with some serious themes and has strong language, depictions of the use of illicit substances, and addresses topics like bullying, sex, suicide, depression, abuse, and more. The use of strong language inThe Breakfast Clubshouldn’t be surprising, but as the movie progresses and the characters open up, more serious topics come up.
The most obvious display ofThe Breakfast Club’s R-rating is when the whole group smokes weed, which leads to the movie’s only musical scene.
The Breakfast Clubdoesn’t have any explicit sexual content (except for the scene where Bender gets his head between Claire’s thighs without her consent) butit does have different mentions of sexual activity, such as Bender teasing Claire about being a virgin and Allison claiming to be a nymphomaniac and having an affair with an older man. The most obvious display ofThe Breakfast Club’s R-rating is when the whole group smokes weed, which leads to the movie’s only musical scene.
As for the topics addressed inThe Breakfast Club, there’s bullying not just among the students (both in detention and unseen characters) but from Principal Vernon, as well. When the group shares their reasons for being in detention,they talk about peer pressure, pressure from their parents, and academic pressure,depression, suicide attempts, physical abuse from their parents, neglectful parents, and stereotypes.
Wild Breakfast Club Theory Gives A Darker Meaning To Its Iconic Ending
A theory gives The Breakfast Club a dark twist that makes its characters' journeys more complex while giving the ending a darker tone.
How The Breakfast Club’s Rating Compares To Other Movies Directed By John Hughes
The Breakfast Club Addressed Themes That Other John Hughes Movies Didn’t
The rest of the movies directed by John Hughes were given a PG-13 rating, given to content with material that might be inappropriate for children under 13.
The Breakfast Clubisn’t John Hughes’ only R-rated movie, asPlanes, Trains and Automobilesalso got this rating for its strong language and sexual situations. The rest of the movies directed by John Hughes were given a PG-13 rating, given to content with material that might be inappropriate for children under 13. This rating was given mostly due to the strong language used in these movies, though some of them, likeSixteen CandlesandWeird Science, also had sexual material.The Breakfast Clubisn’t as explicit as other movies from the decade, but it addresses more serious topics than other John Hughes movies.
The Breakfast Club
After receiving detention, a group of five high-school students bonds as they realize they have quite a bit in common despite being from different friend groups. Despite being over 35 years old, The Breakfast Club still stands as one of the quintessential movies of the ‘80s and one of director John Hughes standout films.
