Our Rating: 4.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Starring: Emilio Estévez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Paul Gleason.
Director: John Hughes.
Ok, so nobody from this generation's even heard about this movie. So what if none of the actors made it really big, with Anthony Michael Hall being the only one of them to have been in the news recently (courtesy The Dark Knight, where he played Engel)? This is the definitive teenage coming-of-age films. It's the movie that literally jettisoned the genre when it was released in 1985. And, rightly so.
The movie follows a pretty simplistic storyline. Five teenagers, representing the different cliques of students in a high school, have to spend one Saturday together in detention. So, you have 'the brain', 'the athlete', 'the princess', 'the criminal' and 'the basket case' locked up with each other for one whole day. To add to their woes, the teacher-in-charge has asked them to submit a 1000 word essay on "who you think you are" by the end of the day. But then, as the day progresses and they come to know and understand one-another, they come to realize that each one of them is much more than what they have been typecast as. In each, lurks an athlete, a brain, a criminal....Each one faces the same issues and parental and peer pressures.
The sad part of this journey is that though, they have come to accept each other, they realize that their other friends will not be as open as them. That is, because of peer pressure and a sense of wanting to fit in, they will not be able to openly acknowledge one-another as a friend. As 'the princess' puts it, and is seconded by 'the athlete', she'll feel really embarrassed if 'the brain' walked up to her every day in the corridor and talked to her...
The film rather poignantly addresses issues of dealing with what society expects of, and finally, makes people. And, it does it in a really entertaining and humorous manner, never getting too preachy. The character of the criminal, Bender, is portrayed really well by Judd Nelson. His bluntness, though hypocritical, makes you think. And, his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude makes for some really darkly comic situations. In fact, all the characters are extremely well fleshed out and enacted.
All in all, though I'd recommend this one to everybody, it'd really be appreciated by the slightly more discerning audience...
The movie follows a pretty simplistic storyline. Five teenagers, representing the different cliques of students in a high school, have to spend one Saturday together in detention. So, you have 'the brain', 'the athlete', 'the princess', 'the criminal' and 'the basket case' locked up with each other for one whole day. To add to their woes, the teacher-in-charge has asked them to submit a 1000 word essay on "who you think you are" by the end of the day. But then, as the day progresses and they come to know and understand one-another, they come to realize that each one of them is much more than what they have been typecast as. In each, lurks an athlete, a brain, a criminal....Each one faces the same issues and parental and peer pressures.
The sad part of this journey is that though, they have come to accept each other, they realize that their other friends will not be as open as them. That is, because of peer pressure and a sense of wanting to fit in, they will not be able to openly acknowledge one-another as a friend. As 'the princess' puts it, and is seconded by 'the athlete', she'll feel really embarrassed if 'the brain' walked up to her every day in the corridor and talked to her...
The film rather poignantly addresses issues of dealing with what society expects of, and finally, makes people. And, it does it in a really entertaining and humorous manner, never getting too preachy. The character of the criminal, Bender, is portrayed really well by Judd Nelson. His bluntness, though hypocritical, makes you think. And, his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude makes for some really darkly comic situations. In fact, all the characters are extremely well fleshed out and enacted.
All in all, though I'd recommend this one to everybody, it'd really be appreciated by the slightly more discerning audience...
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