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‘The Breakfast Club’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Wesley Morris

February 13, 2020 · The Breakfast Club (1985) · Comedy · Drama · 1:43:17

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 51:12The 15-minute stretch including Larry Lester speech, Brian's confession, lipstick trick, Bender railing at Claire, Brian asking if they'd still be friends, everyone confronting Claire, Brian talking about pressure, and Ally Sheedy admitting she's there because she had nothing better to do
Wesley Morris▶ 51:49Agrees with Bill's pick - the confession sequence where characters switch sides and develop, calling it a really well refined scene

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 58:31The Niagara Falls joke - Brian's lie about having a girlfriend 'you wouldn't know her' has provided 35 years of comedic mileage
Chris Ryan▶ 58:16The five high school archetypes (jock, burnout, prom queen, nerd, outcast) still feel very real even if they don't match contemporary high school

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:23The whole nymphomaniac thing - it's so unrealistic and ridiculous that anyone would believe it
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:48Supports the storyline's believability by explaining that much of life was unprovable back then, before social media documentation
Wesley Morris▶ 1:01:28Defends the nymphomaniac storyline as realistic teenage behavior, noting everyone told unbelievable lies at that age

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:05:51John Cusack — Discusses multiple casting alternatives: Robin Wright would have been too beautiful for Claire, prefers the actual casting choices, finds John Cusack as Bender would make it a totally different movie since he's not threatening enough
Chris Ryan▶ 1:07:43John Cusack — Suggests John Cusack as Bender would have played it more sensitive, imagines Rick Moranis wanting a more serious dramatic approach to the janitor role
Wesley Morris▶ 1:06:05Tom Cruise — Agrees Rob Lowe made Molly Ringwald a star and switching parts would have broken her persona continuity, notes Nicholas Cage as Bender would have been too much but a better performance, Tom Cruise would have been perfect for Andrew the wrestler

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:14:41Paul Gleason
Chris Ryan▶ 1:14:44Paul Gleason (Clarence Beeks from Trading Places)

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:15:49John Kapelos — Carl the janitor

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:18:42Presented extensive trivia including filming location (Maine North High School), Judd Nelson's method acting issues, cast height changes during filming, deleted scenes, Simple Minds song origin, and cast feuds
Chris Ryan▶ 1:20:28Added details about Anthony Michael Hall's growth spurt during filming, clarified the swimming scene involving Vernon and Carl, and noted Molly Ringwald's influence on script changes
Wesley Morris▶ 1:21:29Discussed Simple Minds being a soul band making the song unusual for them, praised Annie Leibovitz's poster photography, and analyzed the cinematography style that created movie star iconography

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:08John Hughes — Yes for Molly Ringwald, yes for Judd Nelson, yes for Anthony Michael Hall (after initially saying no), yes for Ally Sheedy, Ferris Bueller for John Hughes
Chris Ryan▶ 1:26:38Ally Sheedy — Discusses Ally Sheedy's later career work like High Art but notes it comes in third act of her career
Wesley Morris▶ 1:26:22Anthony Michael Hall — Agrees that Anthony Michael Hall's leads to Weird Science and Full Metal Jacket opportunity, sees Molly Ringwald's three John Hughes movies as one unified work rather than separate films

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:32:43Multiple quotes including 'Does Barry Manilow know that you rate his wardrobe?', 'So it's sort of social, demented and sad, but social', and 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:32:55Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:34:44Multiple questions: What's going on with Brian's flare gun (possible school shooting plot?), Is this the beginning of Claire's bad choice in men?, What was the ending to Bender's blonde joke?, Where does everyone go to college? (suggests Brian to Northwestern, Claire to Barnard/Elon, discusses 2020 remake casting)
Chris Ryan▶ 1:35:17Flare gun was a cry for help, discusses college destinations (Brian to Berkeley/Purdue for wrestling, Andrew to Michigan State/Purdue, Allison to RISD/Antioch/Kenyon), questions why Brian writes the essay while others make out
Wesley Morris▶ 1:35:22Flare gun doesn't make sense but makes sense for Brian's character, asks why Claire and Bender make out in front of her dad, discusses college (Claire as legacy kid at elite school, University of Miami), suggests 2020 version should be monoracial (all black, all Latino, etc.)

Movies Referenced (36)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Wesley Morris▶ 1:08:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Apocalypse Now (1979)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 28:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

3 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons▶ 21:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 18:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Die Hard (1988)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 3:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

High Art (1998)

2 mentions · Wesley Morris, Chris Ryan▶ 1:11:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Inside Out (2015)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 1:12:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Man of the Year (2006)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Risky Business (1983)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 9:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

She's Having a Baby (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 18:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Weird Science (1985)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 18:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Young Guns (1988)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 29:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (4)

John Hughes

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, The Breakfast Club▶ 1:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 0:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joel Schumacher

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for The Phantom of the Opera, 8MM▶ 26:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joy Division

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Donnie Darko▶ 41:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (45)

Emilio Estevez

39 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Chris Ryan▶ 1:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Molly Ringwald

26 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Chris Ryan · Known for Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink▶ 1:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Judd Nelson

21 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire▶ 1:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ally Sheedy

18 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Wesley Morris · Known for WarGames, Short Circuit, The Breakfast Club▶ 1:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anthony Michael Hall

16 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Chris Ryan · Known for Live by Night▶ 1:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Andrew McCarthy

9 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Pretty in Pink▶ 41:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Martin Sheen

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Chris Ryan · Known for The Departed▶ 27:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Cusack

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Wesley Morris · Known for High Fidelity, 1408▶ 25:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Caruso

4 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons · Known for First Blood, Proof of Life▶ 38:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Demi Moore

4 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Striptease, Indecent Proposal▶ 26:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rob Lowe

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Wesley Morris · Known for St. Elmo's Fire▶ 24:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

4 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 1:07:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (2)

Roger Ebert

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris▶ 24:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Elmore Leonard

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Out of Sight, Get Shorty▶ 40:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 2:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗