The Breakfast Club is a 1985 teen film widely considered as the definitive work in the genre. Written and directed by John Hughes, the storyline follows five teenagers (each representing a different clique in high school) as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes. The film has become a cult classic and has had a tremendous influence on many coming of age films since then.
Plot
The plot follows five students at fictional Shermer High School in the widely used John Hughes setting of Shermer, Illinois (a fictitious suburb of Chicago based on Hughes' hometown of Northbrook, Illinois, Shermer is a street in Northbrook, and the school in Northbrook, Glenbrook North High School is on Shermer), as they report for Saturday detention on March 24, 1984. Complete strangers, the five teenagers are all from a different clique or social group:
The Basketcase: a misfit and self-described "compulsive liar"
Nothing better to do (according to her)
The five strangers, who seem to have nothing in common at first, come together at the high school library, where they are harangued and ordered not to speak or move from their seats by the antagonistic principal, Mr. Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), and remain for a period of eight hours and fifty-four minutes (from 7:06 A.M. to 4 P.M.). He assigns a 1,000 word essay (in which each student must write about who they think they are) and then leaves them mostly unsupervised, returning only occasionally to check on them. Bender, who has a particularly negative relationship with Mr. Vernon, disregards the rules and riles the other students; mocking Brian and Andy and sexually harassing Claire. Allison remains oddly quiet except for the occasional random outburst.
The students pass the hours in a variety of ways: they dance, harass each other, tell stories, fight, smoke marijuana, and speak on a variety of subjects. Gradually they open up to each other and reveal their inner secrets (for example, Allison is a kleptomaniac and a compulsive liar and Brian is ashamed of his virginity). They also discover that they all have strained relationships with their parents and are afraid of making the same mistakes as the adults around them. However, despite these developing friendships, the students are afraid that once the detention is over, they will return to their very different cliques and never speak to each other again.
Nevertheless, genuine connections have been made. Andy and Allison are drawn to each other, and Claire and Bender overcome their differences and kiss. Both couples exchange tokens: Allison takes a patch from Andy's letter jacket, and is seen with his sweater around her shoulders at the very end of the movie when they're saying goodbye. Claire gives Bender one of her diamond earrings.
At the request and consensus of the students, Brian is asked to write the essay Mr. Vernon assigned earlier (the subject of which was to be a synopsis by each student detailing "who you think you are"), which challenges Mr. Vernon and his preconceived judgements about all of them. Brian does so, but instead of writing about the actual topic he writes a very motivating letter that is in essence, the main point of the story. He signs the essay as "The Breakfast Club" and leaves it at the table for Mr. Vernon to read when they leave. There are two versions of this letter, one read at the beginning and one at the end, and they are slightly different; illustrating the change in the student's judgments of one another, and their realization that they truly have things in common.
The beginning letter is as follows:
Brian Johnson (although that is unknown at this point): Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois. 60062.
Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed.
The end letter is as follows:
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 a brain...
Andrew Clark: ...and an athlete...
Allison Reynolds: ...and a basket case...
Claire Standish: ...a princess...
John Bender: ...and a criminal...
Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.
The letter is the focal point of the film, as it demonstrates and illustrates the changes the students went through during the course of the day; their attitudes and perspectives have changed and are now completely different. Since a follow-up movie was never planned, the question of 'How would they have acted toward one another in school?' remains unanswered.
Main characters
John Bender: (Judd Nelson) The "criminal" of the group, in detention for pulling a false fire alarm. John Bender starts many of the events throughout the film. While he is hostile at first towards the others in the room with him, he seems to have a more tolerant attitude towards Allison, whom he defends against Principal Vernon. Bender is a detention regular and antagonizes Principal Vernon. At home, he is a victim of child abuse, particularly by his father, who, he says, gave him a carton of cigarettes for Christmas, and administered a cigar burn to his arm for spilling paint in the garage.
Claire Standish: (Molly Ringwald) The "princess" of the group, in detention for skipping class to go shopping. She's used to being sheltered by her group of friends and doting parents. She is almost afraid of being there and is quickly made the target of John Bender's taunting, particularly because she outwardly appears spoiled and unworldly. As she gets to know the others in detention with her, she begins to open her mind bit-by-bit. At home, her bickering parents only pamper her in order to spite each other, a fact which she is painfully aware of. Like Brian, she is sensitive about being a virgin.
Andrew Clark: (Emilio Estevez) Andy is the film's "athlete", in detention for beating up a boy and taping the boy's buttocks together (and when the tape was pulled off, the boy lost some skin). Andy, like Claire, is ashamed of being in detention and is used to the better end of social life at school. But unlike Claire, Andy is constantly pushed beyond his limits, by his coaches, friends and father. He isn't fond of John Bender, but seems to have a soft edge as far as protecting Claire against John's taunting, and is amused by Allison Reynolds' strange outbursts, and even warms to her greatly at the end of the film. At home, he is pressured by his father to always be the best, to win, or more accurately, to not lose.
Allison Reynolds: (Ally Sheedy) The "basket case" of the group, in detention apparently because she had nothing better to do. She is the most socially isolated and claims to have no friends althought it is hinted that she comes from an affluent family just like Claire and Andrew. She hides beneath her hair (which covers most of her face) and the hood of her parka when frightened, and amuses herself by using her flakes of dandruff as snow on a pictures she draws. For the first half of the film she is quiet, save for occasional chipmunk-like "squeaks" of fear and a few random outbursts, but later on she opens up, particularly to Andy. She is the least hesitant to talk openly about her home life and isn't afraid of being different. She is the only character who doesn't partake of John Bender's marijuana stash. At home, Allison is a victim of child neglect from her workaholic parents, and as a result carries a large bag with her to school everyday in case she feels like running away. She claims to be in therapy, but because of her compulsive lying it is unknown if her claim is true. After tricking Claire into revealing her status as a virgin, Allison stated that she too was one.
Brian Johnson: (Anthony Michael Hall) The group's "brain", in detention for attempting suicide by a flare gun in his locker after failing a shop project. Brian is one of the more vulnerable characters, as well as the one who doesn't want any trouble. He tries to keep the group quiet so no one gets yelled at, but sometimes gets in the way while trying to be noticed. John points out Brian as the stereotypical "good boy", which offends Brian. He later reveals he got caught with a flare gun in his locker after it accidentally discharged. At home, Brian is pressured by his parents, much like Andy. But Brian's case differs from Andy in the fact that he is forced to be a perfect academic and make it into an Ivy League college. Like Claire, he is sensitive about his virginity.
Principal Richard "Dick" Vernon: (Paul Gleason) The aggravated principal who mainly dislikes Bender because of his smart-mouth and threats. In the movie, he is seen reading the private school files, for which Carl the janitor blackmails him out of $50. Vernon eventually threatens Bender following countless annoyances by the 'troublemaker'. He states that he has trouble sleeping at night because he knows the kids he is teaching will "run the country" when he and Carl, who he was talking to, get older. He holds to the view that the children of the time grow more different every year. Carl points out that maybe it's Vernon who is changing, not the high school students.
Carl: (John Kapelos) The school janitor who tells the kids he is the eyes and ears of the school. He hears all of their conversations. A clip in the beginning of the movie reveals he was once voted "Man of the Year" when he attended the high school years before.
Cast
Each of the film's young stars became part of the Brat Pack (whose other members include Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy), a group of actors who all hit stardom at the same time and tended to star in movies together. John Hughes appeared in an uncredited role as Brian's father. Of the entire cast, only Hall and Ringwald were actually high school age upon the movie's release; Nelson was twenty-five while Sheedy and Estevez were both twenty-two years old.
Judd Nelson’s performance was influenced by his method style technique of staying in character off set. He was accused of bullying Molly Ringwald off camera due to his insistence on remaining in character off-camera. This behavior nearly forced Hughes to fire Nelson, but Nelson was defended by Paul Gleason, his on-screen nemesis, who stated that Nelson was just trying to stay in character and didn't mean anything by it.[1]
Ringwald and Hall dated briefly after filming ended.[2]
In 2005, MTV announced that the film would be rewarded with the "Silver Bucket of Excellence Award" in honor of its twentieth Anniversary at the MTV Movie Awards. To coincide with the event, MTV attempted to reunite the original cast. Sheedy, Ringwald, and Hall appeared together on stage, with Kapelos in the audience, and Gleason personally gave the award to his former castmates. Estevez could not attend the reunion because of other commitments, and Nelson appeared earlier in the show but left before the on-stage reunion for reasons unknown, prompting Hall to joke that the two were "in Africa with Dave Chappelle." This show was taped on May 28, 2005 and aired on June 9.
Rumors of a sequel where the characters return for a class reunion have been circulating for years, with allegations that Judd Nelson is the lone cast member holding out. [citation needed]
Deleted Scenes
John Hughes' first draft of the film was originally scripted out to be a 2-1/2 hour movie. However, many of the scenes were cut out and the negatives destroyed. John Hughes has stated that he has the only complete copy of The Breakfast Club on film. Among the cut scenes from the movie (some filmed, some only written):
Carl predicts where the five kids will be in 30 years. Bender will have killed himself, Claire will have had "2 boob jobs and a face lift," Brian will have become very successful but die of a heart attack. Allison will be a great poet but no one will care, and Andy will marry a gorgeous airline stewardess who becomes fat.
In a dream sequence, Allison imagines Andy as a gluttonous Viking, Bender as a prisoner, Claire as a bride, and Brian as an astronaut. In an unfilmed alternative to this dream sequence, all five kids imagine random things, including cars, naked women, beer, and fighter planes , and these things end up filling the room until Vernon interrupts.
During the scene where everyone gets high, Allison locks herself in a small room, hugs herself and hums.
John Bender wasn't going to walk to school in the original script. He was going to be driven by his dad in a rusty tow truck, and have a brief fight with him before his dad drives off. Bender is also tossed a bagged lunch, his father saying "You are a waste of lunchmeat!"
After Bender demonstrates "Life at Big Bry's house" Brian stops Bender and corrects him with a much more pessimistic version of the skit. Claire then proceeds to act out her life before asking Bender to demonstrate his version. Bender's routine changes as well here. After Bender mimics his mom, he stops, commenting that "then they make me work to pay off the dentist for the teeth HE busts."
The scene with Andy and Allison walking to get the sodas is extended to a point where Allison pulls out a pack of cigarettes and smokes one.
After getting the sodas, Bender shakes his can violently and places it among the five to see who gets the rigged one. Allison ends up getting it, and when she opens the can, all the soda squirts directly into her mouth.
After Vernon asks who has to use the lavatory, the five go to the bathroom. Vernon gives the boys 2 minutes and the girls 3 minutes. Claire catches Allison in a stall eating a bag of chips, repulsing her. Bender mocks Brian for sitting down to pee instead of using a urinal.
Several staff members were cut out of the script before filming. Dr. Lange, a social studies teacher who dresses oddly, and Robin, a gym teacher. Robin helps Vernon on a few workout machines until Vernon injures his back, and she eventually visits the students while they are in their circle in the library. Robin initially replaced many of Carl's scenes and Carl was originally set to be a minor character with only 2 scenes.
A full preliminary draft including these scenes can be found at Simply Scripts.
Cultural impact
The Breakfast Club was ranked number 1 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies[3] and has had a tremendous impact on both the teen film genre and on popular culture since the 1980s.
In addition, its theme song titled "Don't You (Forget About Me)", performed by Simple Minds, reached #1 in the U.S. billboards in 1985 and has since then become a symbol of teen films, teen love and teen feelings. Yellowcard performed a cover of the song during a special tribute to the movie The Breakfast Club at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. It has also been repeatedly used in several teen films as well as television programs.
References in the media
The band Good Riddance: used this quote on their 2003 CD Bound by ties of blood and affection: "God, are we gonna be like our parents?" "It's unavoidable...it just happens..." "What happens?" "When you grow up...Your heart dies..." The song is titled * Bobby Baun
None More Black, a now-defunct punk rock band, put out a previously unreleased song for Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 entitled "Nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy", which is a quote from Bender to Andrew.
American Pie: During the prom, the hired band can be heard playing "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in the background as the Jason Biggs character berates his three friends for thinking about nothing other than sex.
Chasing Amy, Dogma: In his graphic novel and then his film, respectively, Kevin Smith has the stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob attempt to visit the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois, where many of Hughes' films (including The Breakfast Club) were set, in order to deal marijuana. Multiple scenes within the graphic novel, including one set in a high school, contain some references of Hughes and Club, as does the diner scene in Dogma.
Futurama: In the episode "The Luck of the Fryrish", Fry hides his lucky clover in the sleeve of The Breakfast Club soundtrack, looks at the cover and comments: "Man I can't wait till I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff". Later his older brother, Yancy, discovers the clover while looking for music to play at his wedding, claiming the soundtrack will "clear out the room at the end of the reception". At the end of the episode, the song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" begins to play after he learns the truth of his nephew. Also, the robot Bender was inspired by John Bender, as admitted by Groening himself, who stated this in the DVD audio commentary of the episode.[4]
Go: In the film, one of the characters asks Claire if she's a virgin, to which she replies: "What? Oh, The Breakfast Club. Funny."
"'In Love With The 80's", a song by Relient K: A line in the song goes: "When you're the president of The Breakfast Club and you're not hesitant to fall in love."
"1985", by Bowling for Soup: a line goes "She's seen all the classics, she knows every line, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, even Saint Elmo's Fire."
Grange Hill: A Saturday detention episode of the British children's drama bears a striking resemblance to scenes from the movie, even including the quip "Welcome to the Breakfast Club...!"
Scrubs: In episode 221, Ted finally wins in an argument with Dr. Kelso and imitates the very last scene of the movie, where Bender raises his fist and walks away as "Don't You (Forget About Me)" plays in the background.
The Simpsons: The phrase "Eat my shorts" is used to insult the principal in the film and has since been adopted by its cartoon character Bart Simpson. In addition, The Independent News stated that it is possible that creator Matt Groening based the character of Seymour Skinner on Principal Vernon. Another reference is the detention scene, when Homer is in detention with Marge. The principal increases Homer's detention, similarly to Principal Vernon increasing Bender's number of detentions. An identical situation occurs in an exchange between Skinner and Bart in a different episode. Also Dr. Hibbert recommends or prescribes a "hot beef injection" (Bender asks Molly if she's ever had a hot beef injection in the movie) at a BBQ.
One Tree Hill: During episode 316, the school shooting episode, Jimmy Edwards makes reference to the movie stating "This ain’t… breakfast club! You know, we’re not all gonna… fire up a joint and be pals."
The Office (US): During the episode "The Fight", Michael Scott says to Dwight Schrute, "Two punches: me punching you and you hitting the floor."
Not Another Teen Movie: One scene makes fun of Bender, Andrew and Brian. Also Bender's feud with Principal Vernon is redone and various other lines are repeated. The clock says "20 minutes fast" in the scene too.
In the film Along Came Polly, forgotten child star Sandy Lyle has a poster from a (non-existent) movie he was in called "Crocodile Tears". The poster is clearly based upon that of The Breakfast Club. Don't You (Forget About Me) can also be heard playing in the background.
The Bouncing Souls: The song 'Kid' contains the line, "is it true when we get old, our hearts die? I heard it in a movie once, and I think I know why." The Bouncing Souls are known to have a soft spot for 80's movies in general, as evidenced by 'These Are The Quotes From Our Favorite 80's Movies' released on 1994's The Good, Bad, and the Argyle.
Pani Poni Dash: In one episode, Ichigo implies class 1-C should have a club when they take breakfast at school. In another episode, Himeko says she that the town where The Breakfast Club was (Sermer, Illinois) is not real, and the rest don't believe her although it's true.
The Perfect Score: In a scene when the kids are plotting to steal the SAT scores, Kyle says, "Everyone has their reasons for being here. We don't need to know them." Francesca replies, "Really? I think we do. It'll be like that scene in The Breakfast Club where they all get stoned and make confessions to each other."
Transformers: The Game: There is an Xbox Live Achievement titled "Could You Describe the Ruckus?" as a reference to Brian's line when the principal asks the students about hearing a ruckus.
Media with a similar plot
Dawson's Creek: In the first season, an episode entitled "Detention" is a takeoff of the movie. In the episode, the characters talk about the actors who had appeared in the movie and the fact that none of them had really done any work recently. Pacey, portrayed by Joshua Jackson says, talking about Emilio Estevez, that "he made those 'Duck' movies. Those were classic!" Jackson and Estevez co-starred in the Mighty Ducks movies.
Degrassi: The Next Generation: The third season episode "Take On Me" borrows from the film, with Jimmy (The Jock), Ellie (The Goth/Basketcase), Sean (The Criminal), Hazel (The Princess), and Toby (The Brain) serving detention.
ER: In the episode "Secrets and Lies", originally aired on March 7, 2002, five of the characters were forced into an "all-day Saturday" detention (actually a sexual harassment sensitivity seminar) to which the instructor arrived over two hours late.
Lizzie McGuire: One episode of it is based off of the movie, in which Larry, Kate and Lizzie are all stuck in the cafeteria after a food fight. Their principal says that they have to either tell who started the fight or clean up the cafeteria. They make a connection with each other, clean the cafeteria together and write their principal a note signed as "The Lunch Bunch".
Ultimate Spider-Man comic series, issue #65: The issue takes place in Saturday detention as a tribute to The Breakfast Club, where the five in detention are Peter Parker ("The Brain"), Flash Thompson ("The Criminal"), Mary Jane Watson ("The Basket Case"), Liz Allan ("The Princess") and Kenny "Kong" McFarlane ("The Athlete"). However, they all got into detention for a single incident: Flash unadvertently mocked Mary Jane about Gwen Stacy's recent death, and she picked a fight with him - Liz, Peter and Kong involved too. Writer Brian Michael Bendis has had homage to other John Hughes movies. At one convention when talking about these references Bendis self-mockingly said "John Hughes is my life". It should be noted that this was about a year before the Breakfast Club issue was published.[citation needed]
X-Play: an episode of the G4TV show parodied the movie, except that the characters were forced to write reviews of "retro" (mid-late '80s, early '90s) video games. Character roles were performed by G4 personalities Adam Sessler ("The Brain"), Morgan Webb ("The Princess"), Kevin Pereira ("The Rebel"), Michael Leffler ("The Jock"), and Sarah Lane ("The Basket Case"). Vernon also appeared in the episode, but the name of his actor is unknown at this point. Instead of leaving at the end of the day, they take pills and kill themselves.
One Tree Hill: In episode 413 "Pictures of You" a class assignment tries to get the students break the stereotypes classified by High School: The Jock, Prom Queen, Geek, Loner, and slut or Friendly. The students pair off by drawing names from a hat and during the 50 minute class they perform tasks in an attempt to redefine how the "world" sees them. The actor playing the teacher in this episode played the part of Carl "the janitor" in the Breakfast Club.
Secrets: A 1992 Australian film, described by Time Out as a cross between The Breakfast Club and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, in which five young Beatles fans are locked in the basement of a Melbourne hotel, and gradually open up to each other. The film stars Dannii Minogue (whose character resembles Allison), and Noah Taylor (resembling Brian).
Light It Up: Judd Nelson plays a rogue teacher in an inner city school with a gun crisis that culminates in the library and has distinct parallels to Breakfast Club.
Media that parodies the original
1986 theatrical poster for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: The poster and video box art for the 1980s horror film parodied that of The Breakfast Club.
Short lived punk band Chopper One's video for the song "A Punk Named Josh" features spoofs of the movie, mainly the dancing sequence towards its end.
Along Came Polly: In the movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman's character was a child star who was only in one movie in the '80s called "Crocodile Tears." The poster shown parodies that of The Breakfast Club.
As Told By Ginger: One of its episode in which Ginger has Saturday detention mimics scenes from The Breakfast Club.
Boston Magazine: Its September 2006 issue makes a parody of the film.[citation needed]
Code Monkeys: In "Todd Loses His Mind", after nearly getting killed, game programmer and D&D fanatic Todd abducts Molly Ringwald to make an offering to Gary Gygax. He interrupts the criminal's monologue from the movie during this.
Friends: In an early episode of the television series, the cast is sitting in Monica and Rachel's apartment folding envelopes while whistling the tune used in the movie, mimicking the scene in the library.
Family Guy: In the episode (214 - Let's Go to the Hop) where Peter pretends to be a high school student, he mimics the final scene where John Bender is seen leaving the school throwing his hand in the air to the "Don't You (Forget About Me) song. In addition, in the same episode, Peter enters a library and exclaims "Holy crap, it's the Breakfast Club". He sees Tony the Tiger, Cap'n Crunch, the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, the Trix Rabbit, and the Toucan Sam. Tony mimics the scene describing getting cigarettes for Christmas.
Not Another Teen Movie: The comedy features a number of references to The Breakfast Club and its actors. Most significantly, the film features a scene parodying the exchange where Vernon repeatedly increases Bender's detention. The scene is set in a replica of the library where most of The Breakfast Club takes place and even features the late Paul Gleason reprising his role as Vernon. Also, the school and its cafeteria are named after the director of the film, John Hughes, and Anthony Michael Hall, respectively. Molly Ringwald also has a cameo, and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is played over the end credits.
Star Wars Tales: In the series of graphic novels, The Breakfast Club was parodied as "The Rebel Club".
That '80s Show: A promotional photo for the short-lived FOX series featured its cast in a parody of the Breakfast Club poster.
X-Play: One episode involved Adam, Morgan and some interns reviewing retro 80's games, while breaks between reviews were parodies of scenes from the Breakfast Club.
Degrassi: The Next Generation: Toby(brain), Sean(criminal), Elle(basketcase), Jimmy(athlete), Hazel(princess), they all have Saturday detention, sneak through the halls, and on Monday, they all say hi to each other.
Loners: The cover to issue number one of the Marvel comic series parodies movie poster. File:Loners1.jpgLoners #1
Possible sequel
Regarding a potential sequel to The Breakfast Club, John Hughes stated in 1999 that he was against it, saying:
I thought about it. I could do it in prose. I know what will happen to them. I know them. But to do it with real actors ... they'd never come back together again. There's no excuse that could ever put them in the same room ever again. There isn't anything in their lives after high school relevant to that day.[6]
In 2005, however, Emilio Estevez (the actor who played Andrew Clark) stated that Hughes has an idea for a Breakfast Club 2, with the characters now attending college and "doing time again." Estevez looked forward to the project at the time, saying "If it happens, I'm there." [7].
Shortly thereafter, however, it was reported that Estevez had dropped out of the project. As a result, "there is no longer a project."[8].
Claire Standish's name was originally going to be Cathy Douglas, according to the first draft of the script.
The school used in the filming of The Breakfast Club was also used for some of the school-based scenes in John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which was released just a year after The Breakfast Club. Some of the posters on the walls during filming of The Breakfast Club were still there when Ferris Bueller was filmed. The giveaway is that the sign on the front of the school reads "Shermer High School" in both films. On the Ferris Bueller's Day Off DVD commentary (featured on the 2004 DVD version) John Hughes reveals that he filmed the two movies back to back to save time and money, and some outtakes of both films feature elements of the film crews working on the other film in each case. Hughes has never disclosed, however, whether Ferris Bueller was implied to be a student at the "same" school as The Breakfast Club students a year on.
Two deleted scenes appear in the televised cut of the film, but are not included on the original DVD release, either in the film or as special features.
A continuation of the scene in which Vernon chooses Andrew and Allison to visit the soda machine.
The five students observe Mr. Vernon angrily kicking and punching a vending machine.
In the opening scene, where Brian is reading out the letter to Mr Vernon and he mentions the 'Basketcase', an office desk appears on-screen, with a nameplate reading: 'Dr. R Hashimoto, Guidance Councillor.' Richard Hashimoto is the name of one of the film's executive producers.
The film was shot entirely in sequence. Shooting began on March 28, 1984, and ended in May of 1984.
Taglines
They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.
They were five total strangers, with nothing in common, meeting for the first time: a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel, and a recluse. Before the day was over, they broke the rules, bared their souls, and touched each other in a way they never dreamed possible.
Five strangers with nothing in common, except each other.
USA
