About This Quiz
Rebellious, funny and touching, it's nearly impossible to find anyone who hasn't seen "The Breakfast Club" at least once. Released right on the heels of another John Hughes classic, "Sixteen Candles," no one could have quite predicted the film's success. No matter how many times you've seen it, there's a good chance that you loved it enough to remember it pretty well. Will you get all of our questions about it right, though?
Starring Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald, "The Breakfast Club" reveals the story of four completely different students. Sent to Saturday morning detention, the unlikely group manages to move past their differences and develop friendships. Written by John Hughes in only two days, it was chock full of memorable quotes that have lasted since its 1984 release.
As you go through this quiz, you'll face questions about the cast, the storyline and some of the most important lines in the movie. Can reach all the way back into the neon of the '80s and conjure up the knowledge you have about it? Even if you haven't seen it in a while, it will bring back such great memories that you'll want to run to the television and watch it again when you've finished. Let's find out how well you'll do!
In a line you've probably heard over and over since the film's release, Vernon tells Bender that he'll get the horns for messing with the bull. We're assuming that Vernon is warning Bender that he's the bull.
Bender and Claire may have been at odds throughout most of the film, but it was clearly an attempt at fighting their attraction to one another. By the end of the film, they are kissing. Claire gives him one of her earrings before she gets in the car to leave.
In the original script, John Hughes had intended for Andrew to be a football player. Once Emilio Estevez was on set, he thought that the actor was too small to play a football player. Instead of replacing him, he changed to part to that of a wrestler, instead.
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On set, there was much ado about getting Claire's wardrobe just right. She wanted to be a little more rebellious, but producers wanted her to come off like a rich kid. A happy medium was found when they compromised by dressing Claire in Ralph Lauren.
John Hughes thought he had made the perfect choice for the janitor when he hired Rick Moranis. Attributed to "creative differences," Moranis was let go because he wanted to play the janitor part with a thick Russian accent and the antics to match.
Brian was so aggravated by John's constant insults and uncouth behavior that it nearly came to blows. With Brian sitting in the middle, Brian tells John that it would only take one hit for him to land on the floor.
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Never one to keep his thoughts to himself, Bender teases Vernon about his clothes by saying, "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?" Naturally, Vernon doesn't take well to the insult.
The sandwich was made from Pixy Stix and Cap'n Crunch cereal, and Ally Sheedy has revealed in recent years that she had no problem picking it up and taking a bite out of it. No word on whether she experienced a sugar crash!
Before enjoying the success of going to number one after being featured in "The Breakfast Club," the Simple Minds seemed to disappear. Call it the John Hughes curse if you will, but they are not the first band that has suffered such a fate after being in a Hughes film.
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Since Brian made himself 68 years old on his fake ID, he might not be the person to ask for such things. He justifies his need for it by telling Andrew that he made it so that he could vote.
Always the rebel, John takes it upon himself to taunt every single person in the room. Shortly before Brian threatens to hit him, John tells Brian that he's a liar for saying he gets along with his parents.
Hot on the heels of the success of "The Breakfast Club," Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez followed John Hughes onto the set of "St. Elmo's Fire." Filmed at Georgetown and modeled after a bar called The Tombs, it enjoyed a similar cult following.
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In one of the film's first scenes, John Bender is defending Brian against Claire for being a member of the physics club. He subtly points out that Clarie couldn't handle an academic club.
When the infamous lunch scene starts, John questions Claire about her sushi. Soon after, the camera pans to the epic part where Allison shows the world how to make a sandwich with Pixy Stix and cereal.
What starts off as a funny story about Andrew being sent to detention for gluing someone's buttock together, ends up being an emotional scene. Everyone in the group goes on to tell their stories after his admission.
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Ally Sheedy might have been in her 20's when she played Allison, but she brought nothing but youthfulness to the character. She observes the adults in her life when she says, "When you grow up, your heart dies."
Andrew's admission of having an abusive father leads the group to open up about their demons. Bender confronts Claire about her earrings, but it leads him to open about his home life, too. He states that he received a carton of cigarettes for Christmas.
When Claire gave Allison a pretty, pink makeover, she was nearly unrecognizable. In fact, her new, more feminine look nearly knocked Andrew off his feet. Obviously attracted to her, he tells her that she looks different.
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All of the actors did a fantastic job portraying high school-aged characters, but only Molly Ringwald was in her teens. At the time of the film's wrap, Judd Nelson was the oldest member at 26 years old.
John Hughes grew up and went to school in Illinois, so it's only natural that he would set the locations of so many of his films there. The town of Shermer, however, has never actually existed.
True to character, Allison dumps her bag on a chair when Brian and Andrew decline to view the contents. It leads to a conversation in which she explains that her home life is "unsatisfying," and she likes to be able to move around freely.
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The first adventure the gang takes outside the library sees them going to John Bender's locker so he can retrieve marijuana. Although the scene looks real, oregano was used to get a similar effect.
During the audition and throughout films, Judd Nelson employed an acting technique called method acting. Never breaking character, his antics as John Bender caused a receptionist at the audition to call the police. It also nearly got him fired from the film.
Finally fed up with Bender's antics, Principal Vernon is ready to resort to violence. While locked in the closet, he tries to get Bender to prove what a tough guy he is. When Bender refuses, Vernon calls him a "gutless turd."
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Andrew might come off as one of the more normal members of the group, but he points out that everyone has their quirks. By the end of the film, each character reveals what makes them different from all the others. Ultimately, it proves that they have more in common than they think.
As the misanthrope of the group, Allison expressed herself a lot different than her detention mates. She remains silent for the first 33 minutes, and the first word she utters is a loud, "Ha!"
Do you remember the scene when Brian Johnson is dropped off to serve his time in detention? If the woman and the girl in the car seemed really comfortable with him, that's because they were his actual sister and mother.
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Brian may have been dropped off by his real mother and sister at the beginning of the film. He had a very special actor play his father at the end of the film, though. John Hughes himself stepped into the role.
After wrapping up filming on "Sixteen Candles," John Hughes immediately went to work on "The Breakfast Club." Both were released in 1984, and the date is announced at the beginning of the movie.
Perfectly summing up the characters in the film, a line from David Bowie's "Changes" starts off the film. "... 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."
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Writer and director John Hughes had intended for the dance scene to be a solo act. Since Molly Ringwald felt too insecure about her dancing skills, he asked all the of the actors to join in.
In a scene that gives a little insight into Claire's psychology, Bender is going through her bag. When he asks why she carries so much stuff, she tells him that she's afraid to throw anything away.
"The Breakfast Club" was based on the experiences John Hughes had at Northbrook High School in Northbrook, Illinois. Although the name given to the school, Shermer High School, was fictional, the Des Plaines school where it was shot is named as Maine North High School.
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If you pay close attention to the opening scene of the movie, you'll see a closeup of Carl Reed wearing a suit. Right above the row of photos, there's an inscription that shows he was once Shermer High's Man of The Year.
Andrew went through Brian's wallet and found a fake ID, but Allison found something just as intriguing. His Social Security number starts with the number 049, and film aficionados know that it's the set of numbers given to those who were born in Connecticut.