'The Wish Fulfilment of Ferris Beuller’s day Off and the reality of ‘ The Breakfast Club’
Three years ago, peering through the discount DVD’s in Virgin, I stumbled upon a film, that I knew little about, but the cover instantly drew me in. A Young Matthew Broderick looked up at me, hands behind his head, looking instantly cool and relaxed with that one pose. The Slogan read, ‘ One man’s struggle to take it easy’ and the title, Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. That night sitting up in my room, I started to watch, slowly getting more and more interested as the film grew on, eventually becoming transfixed in what was occurring before me. The lead character, Ferris Beuller himself, was everything that you want in a teen lead. He was cool, calm, funny, dangerous all at the same time. He dragged his friends with him into a world were very few of us would ever get to tread, were you can drive Ferraris, skip class, kiss the most beautiful girl in school and maybe most importantly, dance and sing ‘twist and shout’ on a float in downtown Chicago being cheered on by the masses. As I watched I saw myself in his place, it could never happen, will never happen, but that never stopped me from wishing it. What teenager wouldn’t want to be like Ferris ? He is supremely confident and showed no signs of self doubt, or typical teenage insecurities, if only !
After my first and subsequent viewings, ‘Ferris Beuller’s day off quickly grew to become one of my favourite films, so much so that I decided to look into the other works of the director. A certain Mr John Hughes. Upon looking at his credits, I quickly realised that he was predominately active during the 80’s and seemingly focused on teen, high school drama films. I searched about and eventually tracked down and viewed his other major works. I watched ‘Pretty in Pink’ a straight forward story about a girl, loving a guy, who doesn’t love her back and is really a complete sleaze, and the best friend who is really in love with her. Of Course the film would end with the happy ending, she would get with the best friend. But no ! She got with the other guy, who would never appreciate her. This was my fist lesson in John Hughes Cinema, never expect the clichéd, this man tells the truth. Following this, I watched sixteen candles, a weaker film, with a similar set up, only this time the guy really does love the girl. The happy ending shouldn’t work, yet it does, it feels natural and not at all forced.
These films were enjoyable, but to me none could ever reach the level of Ferris Beuller. Then I found ‘The Breakfast Club’……
The slogan read: ‘ They only met once, but it changed their life’s 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.’
The breakfast club was made in 1985, yet remains timeless, it can be applied in some form to the life’s of almost any teenager at some stage, to me however, it is my life. The story is simple, more suited to the stage then the screen you could be forgiven for thinking. 5 teenagers are forced together on a Saturday morning school detention period. They have differences, they clash, they decide to work together, eventually finding out that they have more in common then any of them would have them reveal. However, it isn’t this simple, the five teens are all given different labels, different social status and most importantly extremely different lives. There is the prom queen beauty ( Molly Ringwald), the geeky science lover ( Anthony Michael Hall), The sporty, wrestling team jock ( Emilio Estevez), the abused, criminal rebel ( Judd Nelson) and finally the quiet, reclusive, depressed girl ( Ally Sheedy). So why does this film mean so much to me, why is it possibly my favourite film of all time ? Mainly because I can see myself in all of them.
Over my many repeated viewing of the film, I have grown to realise that I could be any of these characters, I am capable of all the acts of cruelness and kindness that is seen on screen. Molly Ringwalds, beauty queen may seem a strange character for a 16 year old male to identify with, but who hasn’t ever felt the pressure of their peers. She looks down on those who she is led to believe she’s better than. Even if she doesn’t truly believe it. Throughout my life I have had people telling me, who I should mix with and who I shouldn’t, I have formed opinions on people I’ve never met and to my shame treated people with disdain, just because I thought I had to. In other words, a bitch. Like Molly Ringwalds character I have grown up and realised that this isn’t fair, but I can side with her, I know why she acts as she does, even if it’s not right.
In the jock character I can see what I might have become, self obsessed and empty. A carbon clone of the hundreds of other, preppy, soulless, so called ‘popular guys’. I used to be in the team, was friends with the people who I now loath, but if not for this film then I could have remained like that. Through Emilio Estevez I seen what I could be, and didn’t like what I saw. As a younger guy I could be seen as a mini jock, I boasted of my sporting success, tried to put others down by focusing on their weaknesses, and they would never argue back, they knew they wouldn’t win. I wouldn’t let them. However I grew out of this phase and looking back, I am horrified by what I once was but I see them everyday in school, an army of Emilio Estevez’s.
Anthony Michael Hall’s character is sympathetic and pathetic at the same time. He defines teen social awkwardness, never quite sure how to interact with the other characters, who wouldn’t look twice at him during the normal school day unless to throw some cheap insult his way ! He defines the part of me that is largely kept quiet, due to fear of the reactions it would receive. The fact that I’m as complete geek. I love Comic Books, I’m a movie fanatic and I like nothing better then to sit down and write, whether it be an essay, a speech, a letter or even a song. Just Like the AMH in ‘the Breakfast club’ I like to keep this to myself, and his closeted shielded existence represents this perfectly.
Just like Ferris Beuller, the character of Bender ( Judd Nelson) is the person we all wish we could be, but can’t achieve his levels of cool, wit and his non-conformities. The key difference is though, Bender is a fractured character, unlike the seemingly invincible Ferris Beuller. He bears his weaknesses and wears his scars like a badge of honour. Whether he really is abused at home we will never be sure, but it’s irrelevant. What’s important is that He is the side of us all that just wants to do whatever he pleases, doesn’t care for the restrictions and rules that society wants us to conform to. In real life nobody could make a success of their life living like this, and John Hughes knows that. The audience know that no matter how much we side with the character he is on a collision course with failure, any chance of success in lie he may have had is now permanently lost. Of all the characters though, he is who I most wish I could be, I would love to have the courage to just do exactly what I wanted, screw the consequences. Unfortunately that is out of my reach.
The final character of the ensemble, is Alison, played by actress Ally Sheedy. This is the character who I see myself in the most, she isn’t brave enough to show herself to the world, just like I hide inside myself. She is described early on by the others as a ‘ basketcase’ but in reality, she could be the smartest of them all. They don’t understand her, yet she can see each of them for that they truly are, cowards, hiding behind a stereotype, a label so to speech. However, she keeps herself to herself, and remains almost silent over the course of the film, only offering the occasional comment when she feels it necessary. Never understanding the constant need to show false emotions for others, or the desire to put other people down. For this however she is victimised, called crazy, depressed, satanic even ! In my case I’ve been described as depressed , just because I too didn’t see any reason to share my feelings with others. I still rarely do, only with a precious few. It angers me, how ( just Like Allison) people think they have to label me, when I clearly wish to be just what I am, natural and not restricted by what people tell me is the right thing to do.
The breakfast club told the truth. Whilst ’ Ferris Beuller’s Day Off’ is the ultimate wish fulfilment, the ’Breakfast Club’ is realistic. For the first time I was watching a film about teens that seemed real. It was a world I could not only recognise, but felt a part of. In my experience, adults often look back, and talk about how school was the best days of their life’s, that may be true, but it’s an entirely different proposition when you’re there, having to deal with the daily bullshit coming from all directions, every little action deemed outside the norm questioned and scrutinised, then eventually laughed at. I’m not going to lie, my school life is better then many. I have some good friends, and people I know I can trust, which is more then can be said for some others, but I do feel as if I have to hold back constantly, avoid showing my true self, just because I know that it’s not worth it. All the characters in the breakfast club, hold a little something of themselves back, so as to avoid being laughed at, so they can stay In their little groups.
My love for this film has constantly increased over every viewing, as I find more and more of myself in the teenagers forced together through fate. The last time I viewed the film, I was lying on my bed with my ex-girlfriend, and as she watched the film, I watched her, and as every second of the film progressed I fell more in love with her. Like Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez ( Who share a kiss at the emotional climax of the film) Our relationship would be difficult and almost brought down by the fact that our friends, the groups of people we hung about with, took a dislike to each other, and told us that we were making mistakes and shouldn’t go for it. But as we lay together and watched this film, I felt for the first time ever, love ! Not just for the film, but towards the person lying next to me, somebody I could relate to and who accepted me as me, not a label, not a category, not something or someone I’m not. Over the following months, my love for this girl increased, to a stage where I couldn’t believe I could feel this way about any other person. Whenever I watch this movie, my mind instantly thinks of her, and how in a world of groups and labelling of people, we rose above it, and enjoyed each other for no reason other then who we really were, and what we meant to each other. And that proved to me that no matter what people say, and where they think you should belong, the only person who can truly tell you that is yourself, and that is what John Bender and the rest of the kids in detention try to tell us as we watch their Saturday morning progress. Ferris Beuller says the same thing, listen to yourself and do what pleases you, that’s the only way to find true happiness. The Breakfast club let me fall in Love and told me to listen to myself, But who am I ?
I am the brain,
the beauty,
the jock,
the rebel
and the recluse.
I am all of these, yet I am none of them, I am me and only me, but inside is each of these characters, I do not wished to be labelled and will never again fall into any of them, to me doing so is both cowardly and false. The essay written at the films conclusion by Anthony Michael Halls character, captures this sentiment perfectly, it reads:
‘ Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions….. Sincerely yours, the Breakfast club.’
In my bedroom, directly above my bed, I have the movie poster from ‘ Ferris Beuller’s day out’ Each night as I fall asleep, I can look at this and dream of what I wish I was, who I wish I could be, if I only had the sheer confidence and nerve. On the opposite wall, above my door I have the movie poster for ‘ The breakfast club’ . And Everyday as I leave my room, to go out into the real world ,I can look up and see who I really am, see myself in the faces of five teenagers, who ‘broke the rules, bared their souls, and touched each other in a way that never seemed possible.’
I'll Be Talkin To Ya xxx
