YOUR AD HERE »

‘… And these children … are immune to your consultations’

Jennifer Harper
Jennifer Harper
ALL |

A jock, a brain, a princess, a basket case and a criminal.

I tuned into the MTV Movie Awards last weekend just to see the reuniting of the actors who portrayed these characters in “The Breakfast Club.”

John Hughes’ 1980s film trio of the teenage existence, “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink” and “Sixteen Candles,” are my favorite movies of all time.



I’ve seen the three films probably 50 times combined.

Why after 20 years do I keep coming back to these movies?



What makes them so timeless?

Some would write them off as trite 1980s teen flicks.

I ask these people how?

How can you not stand up and cheer (at least in your mind) when Molly Ringwald’s character from the wrong side of the tracks (literally, don’t count on these movies for obscurity) in “Pretty in Pink” ends up with the rich guy whose friends don’t approve?

How can your heart not just melt when in “Sixteen Candles,” the beautiful, popular senior Jake Ryan swings by in his red sports car to pick up lowly sophomore Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald again) from her sister’s wedding even though the two have never exchanged a word?

The emotions and experiences you had and those you longed for as a teenager live on in these movies.

There’s a jock, a brain, a basket case and a criminal inside all of us.

There’s a desire to break down societal walls and for money and status to have no meaning.

There’s a wish inside everyone who was ever a teenager to have the perfect 16th birthday party with the perfect popular guy or girl that you thought didn’t know you existed.

Timeless is the quote that sums up the teenage experience scrawled across a black screen as “The Breakfast Club” begins: “… And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through …” ” David Bowie.

Staff writer Jennifer Harper writes a Wednesday column. She can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 248 or jharper@summitdaily.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.