The core cast of John Hughes’s 1985 cult classic “The Breakfast Club” reunited over the weekend for the first time since the movie’s release.
The film’s stars—Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, and Judd Nelson—took the stage of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo on April 12 to reminisce about their time making the coming-of-age drama.
“I feel really, very emotional and moved to have us all together,” Ringwald, 57, said during the event, noting that it was the first time that Estevez had joined the entire group. “We don’t have to use the cardboard cutout anymore because he’s here.”
“I skipped all of my high school reunions, so this just was something that, finally, I felt I needed to do just for myself,” Estevez, 62, said in response.
“But Josh, this one felt special. It’s here in Chicago, where we made the film, and obviously, the 40th anniversary and it just felt like it was time. ... So here I am.”
The reunion comes four decades after the five actors portrayed a group of rebellious and troubled teenagers on “The Breakfast Club,” which hit theaters on Feb. 15, 1985.
The film chronicles the teens’ interactions after they are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention.
The high schoolers all come from different high school cliques. There’s the popular girl Claire Standish, played by Ringwald; the outcast Allison Reynolds, played by Sheedy; the brainy nerd Brian Johnson, played by Hall; the jock athlete Andrew Clark, played by Estevez; and the rebel John Bender, played by Nelson.
The film’s deep dive into social stereotypes, as well as its timeless themes of teenage angst and the struggles that come with finding one’s sense of belonging, has allowed “The Breakfast Club” to endure over the years.
During the panel, Ringwald said watching the film with her kids was a “wild experience,” adding that it had a profound impact on the way they interact as a family.
The actress, who is also known for her roles in “Sixteen Candles” (1984) and “Pretty in Pink” (1986), and her husband, writer Panio Gianopoulos, have three children: Mathilda, 21, and twins Adele and Roman, 15.
“I watched the first one with my now 21-year-old daughter when she was a little too young to watch it, but it was pretty amazing,” Ringwald recalled.
“It changed my parenting watching it with her. I mean, a lot of this stuff went over her head, thankfully, but how it spoke to her, you know, which character she identified with and why—it opened up this incredible conversation.”
Estevez, who also starred in “The Outsiders” (1983) and “St. Elmo’s Fire” (1985), offered a similar sentiment about “The Breakfast Club,” touching on the film’s cultural impact.
“This is one of those movies that just stands the test of time—generationally, it’s a crossover film,” he said. “We were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to be involved in something like that.”
Hall, 57, said the shared human experiences presented in the film have played a role in its long-lasting success.
“I just think that the takeaway from the film for me is this idea of commonality, that we’re more alike than we’re different,” he said.
“And I think that’s really powerful, and I think as time has progressed, it also resonates as sort of, not an anti-bullying message, but there’s something really resonant about what comes through.
“I think that when people watch it, it’s almost like unconscious group therapy or something. They see themselves in one of us or some of us or what have you. ... I think that [the film] speaks and continues to find younger generations as a testament to [John Hughes’s] work and his writing.”
