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• DVD & Streaming

The Breakfast Club

• Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• February 7, 1985
• Emilio Estevez as Andrew Clark; Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish; Judd Nelson as John Bender; Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Johnson; Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds; Paul Gleason as Richard Vernon; John Kapelos as Carl

Home Release Date

• March 10, 2015
• John Hughes

Distributor

• Universal Pictures

Movie Review

Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.” But a high schooler might want to pull out poor and put in its place cliques .

Cliques. Those ruthless stereotypes that sort every adolescent into the “appropriate” social strata, categories hermetically sealed by the caste system of popularity. After all, what do athletes and popular girls have to do with geeks and stoners?

The Breakfast Club suggests the answer is this: a lot more than you might think.

It’s Saturday, March 24, 1984. A little before 7:00 a.m., five high school students arrive to serve a day of detention for crimes and misdemeanors committed at school (some more serious than others). There’s pampered Claire Standish (whom the film dubs the “princess”), wrestling star Andrew Clark (the “athlete”), academic whiz Brian Johnson (the “brain”), artsy oddball Allison Reynolds (the “basket case”) and, finally, the world-weary rebel without a cause John Bender (the “criminal”).

Five kids with nothing in common. Except, that is, their shared loathing for their “warden,” Assistant Principal Richard Vernon (whom Bender has a penchant for calling Dick in a not-so-nice way).

Vernon’s assignment for his irascible inmates? Write an essay “describing to me who you think you are.”

Don’t make any noise , he adds. And don’t move, not even to go to the bathroom . After all, his office isn’t far away, he says, and all the doors between the kids’ library holding cell and him are to remain open.

Vernon doesn’t stay in his office. Nor do these five clique champions, as it were, follow any of his instructions for very long. These comrades in crime don’t get off to a good start, you should know, with Bender antagonizing everyone. But it’s a very different club by the time breakfast gives way to dinner.

Positive Elements

If The Breakfast Club were a book club, we’d be reading about how underneath all the surface differences that separate teens—differences created and exacerbated by looks, money, family history and intelligence—there’s even more similarity. All of these adolescents are struggling to cope with hard things in their lives (often related to poor family situations; more on that later). They realize they’re all running scared, silently dealing with shame and insecurity. Ultimately, it’s suggested that the new bonds of friendship they’ve forged might even be deep enough to overcome the cliquish forces that ordinarily would have ensured that none of them ever actually had a conversation.

Bender is the most damaged of the five, if one can judge such things by actions alone. He’s antisocial, meanspirited and outrageously angry. He frequently lambastes the others early on, especially rich Claire, prompting Andrew to come to her defense. And Bender remains pretty volatile throughout the story, but we’re eventually taught that his alienation and rage are the product of a father who beats and belittles him.

Similarly, one of the movie’s most poignant scenes has to do with Andrew, who confesses he’s in detention for having taped a classmate’s bare backside in a locker room. He says he did it to please his father. “I got the feeling he was disappointed in me, that I never cut loose on anyone.” Then he describes his regret and shame for the bullying thing he’d done. “Afterwards, in Vernon’s office, all I could think about was Larry’s father, and Larry having to go home and explain what happened to him. And the humiliation, the f—ing humiliation he must have felt. How do you apologize for something like that? There’s no way. It’s all because of my old man.”

The Breakfast Club doesn’t have much good to say about any of these kids’ parents, I’ll note. But it arguably illustrates the great damage done to children by divorce, neglect and the selfishness of disconnected moms and dads.

Spiritual Elements

Bender sarcastically crosses himself.

Sexual Content

While hiding from Vernon, Bender ends up underneath a desk in front of Claire, where he and the camera look up her skirt (seeing her underwear). Bender and Claire eventually strike up an attraction and kiss. They wind up in a broom closet together, where it’s unclear whether anything beyond kissing happens. Andrew and Allison also share a kiss.

The subject of virginity comes up repeatedly, with Bender using the term “cherry” derogatorily to describe virgins. Allison holds forth on the “double-edged sword” of teen female sexuality, saying, “If you say you haven’t [had sex], you’re a prude. If you say you have, you’re a slut. It’s a trap. You want to, but you can’t. Then when you do, you wish you didn’t, right?” She finally says she thinks sex is OK if you really love someone. There’s speculation about whether Claire and Brian are virgins and whether Claire is a manipulative tease. Brian lies about his sexual status, then confesses. And that prompts Claire to say, “I think it’s OK for a guy to be a virgin.”

Bender narrates a hypothetical depiction of heavy petting. Allison spins a wild story about her supposed sexual escapades. She calls herself a nymphomaniac and lies about even having an affair with her married psychiatrist.

Bender jokes about impregnating a girl. And he mocks Andrew for being a wrestler, saying, “I have a deep admiration for guys who roll around on the floor with other guys.” We hear quips about wet dreams, elephant genitals, French kissing, going to school naked on a dare and a “nudie pic” with a “beaver shot” (which Allison says she found in Brian’s wallet).

Violent Content

Bender and Andrew tussle, with Andrew pinning Bender easily. Bender then retrieves a switchblade from his coat, whips it open and waves it threateningly at Andrew.

Bender falls through the ceiling tiles while sneaking around. Vernon tells Bender that after he graduates, he hopes he runs into him so he can “knock your d–k in the dirt.” Bender’s undaunted, and he talks about suffering physical abuse at the hands of his raging father, showing a scar on his arm from one of the man’s lit cigars. In fits of rebellious anger, he tears up books and knocks things off the shelves in the library.

We hear that somebody had been contemplating suicide for failing a class.

Crude or Profane Language

About 25 uses each of the f- and s-words. “A–hole” and “b–ch” are used six or seven times each. “H—,” “a–” and “p—” are all used as well. About 10 references to the male anatomy include “balls,” “pr–k” and “d–k.” “F-ggot” is lobbed into the mix once. We see several obscene hand gestures. God’s name is taken in vain a dozen times (three or four times with “d–n”).

Drug and Alcohol Content

The gang sneaks marijuana out of Bender’s locker. Several of them then toke on joints. Bender sets his shoe on fire, which he uses to light and smoke a cigarette. He says his father got him a carton of cigs for Christmas, and he meanly mocks Claire’s mom, calling her a “poor rich drunk mother.” Allison says she likes vodka. Vernon drinks a beer in the teacher’s lounge.

Other Negative Elements

Bender asserts, “Being bad feels pretty good.” He tells Brian, “If you say you get along with your parents, well, you’re a liar.” And Andrew says of his father, “I f—ing hate him. He’s like this mindless machine that I can’t even relate to anymore.” Later he asks, “My god, are we gonna be like our parents?” Claire responds, “Not me. Ever.” But Allison says, “It’s unavoidable. It just happens.” And when Allison says, “My home life is unsatisfying,” Andrew responds, “Well, everyone’s home life is unsatisfying. If it wasn’t, people would live with their parents forever.”

Indeed, with the exception of Carl (the school’s janitor), all the adults we see or hear about are depicted as self-absorbed, unloving, bullying, immature and abusive. Vernon, for his part, sees his relationship with the students as a war of power in which the kids are the enemy. He locks Bender in a closet, calling him a “lying sack of s—” and a “gutless turd.”

There’s talk of public urination and a dirty jockstrap.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing that happens in The Breakfast Club is that this group of five disillusioned, angry, alienated, angst-and-ennui filled teens actually complete the assignment Mr. Vernon gave them.

In a concluding voiceover, Brian and his recently released convicts intone, “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 … and an athlete … and a basket case … a princess … and a criminal.”

It’s an upbeat message if still belligerent, a final reminder that the superficial differences that separate teens—and all of us, for that matter—aren’t as deep as they appear.

The downbeat message that never gets resolved? The movie’s grim vision of parenthood, family and adulthood. At one point, Claire says of her divorced parents, “They just use me to get back at each other.” Imitating what his father thinks of him, Bender rants that his dad thinks he’s a “stupid, worthless, no-good, g–d–n, freeloading son of a b–ch, retarded, big mouth know-it-all, a–hole jerk.” And perhaps no one articulates the prevailing worldview better than Allison, who says simply, “When you grow up, your heart dies.”

In a single sentence? To be an adult, a parent, is a to be a mindless, self-absorbed dead thing with no capacity to help those who still long for love and life— read: teens —to navigate the complex world they live in.

A 30TH ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE UPDATE: In the three decades since The Breakfast Club premiered, it’s been hailed as the high-water mark in director John Hughes’ short but storied storytelling career. (Hughes also directed Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Curly Sue .) Watching the film within the context of 2015 instead of 1985, I was perhaps most struck by the fact that it posits an utterly unbridgeable gap between adults and teens that seems less true today than it might have felt then. The angst and insecurity these teens face together still rings true. But the antagonistic relationship they have with adults, as well as their perspective on adulthood, has the anachronistic feel of an age when the Generation Gap was a far bigger deal than it seems 30 years later.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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The Breakfast Club Reviews

Through the character's stereotypes, John Hughes makes us look at how similar we are in our differences. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 22, 2023

The late John Hughes' finest hour (he didn't have many, despite a prolific output), The Breakfast Club was the best of the so-called "Brat Pack" features as well as a seminal film for many who came of age in the 1980s.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 18, 2021

Hughes once again sensationally captures the feel of adolescent rebellion and nonconformity with both timeless severity and laugh-out-loud dialogue.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Aug 31, 2020

[Hughes] understands adolescents as well as anyone who has ever made movies about them, and he has a fluent way with young actors. In this picture, his dramatic ideas may be cheesy, but Hughes still manages to create some excitement and laughs.

Full Review | Jan 2, 2020

...impressively (and consistently) engrossing...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Oct 20, 2019

The film is an extraordinarily well-blended mix of humor, heartbreak, and anger as each character displays a pantheon of raw emotions.

Full Review | Jul 4, 2019

A superb film, an all-time classic, and an all-time favourite of many a film lover.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Apr 11, 2018

An absolutely outstanding movie, not only one of the best ever made about high school-age kids, but one of the pinnacle films of the 1980s.

Full Review | Mar 7, 2018

Hughes's poignant, sometimes funny, and always thoughtful drama didn't so much revolutionize the teen movie as it mined the genre for long-ignored potential

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 18, 2018

Taking place almost entirely in one room, "The Breakfast Club" is the kind of movie -- and the kind of play -- that's hardly seen anymore. And good riddance.

Full Review | Jan 4, 2018

Hughes has a wonderful knack for communicating the feelings of teenagers, as well as an obvious rapport with his exceptional cast - who deserve top grades.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 13, 2016

Had something to say about being an adult and how the lessons we learned as a teenager would carry us in to adulthood, for better and for worse.

Full Review | Dec 11, 2015

Hughes may deserve more plaudits as a social worker than a filmmaker, but you have to admit his hokey situation plays. The reason is the five terrific young actors, who bring more conviction to these parts than they perhaps deserve.

Full Review | Nov 9, 2015

Molire's most famous work, Tartuffe, is about a pious fraud who turns out to be a criminal... The joke is that Bender is a criminal fraud who turns out to be pious.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Mar 26, 2015

Nothing really changes. You hear nothing you haven't heard before. But you know that for them it is happening for the first time, and they deserve compassion. I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to see "The Breakfast Club."

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 23, 2015

Rarely have on-screen teens felt this authentic. They bluster, bicker and trade horrible insults (whence the film's R rating), then suddenly expose their most guarded feelings.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 23, 2015

...doesn't just remember or understand what it's like to be a teenager. The Breakfast Club embodies the experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 22, 2015

While meticulously drawn, the film's characters are so stereotypically representative that only the lamest of moviegoers will not determine their respective backgrounds and problems long before the plodding movie does.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2015

an awakening

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 19, 2014

[VIDEO ESSAY] The movie captures teenagers' innate ability to defeat authority figures, and their own misconceptions about themselves.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Sep 16, 2013

I Watched ‘The Breakfast Club’ for the First Time Ever—& It’s a Powerful Reminder That Teens Deserve Better

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

Over the past few months, I’ve been slowly dipping my toes into classic films—and by “classic,” I mean the kind that elicits a gasp if I dare confess I’ve never seen it before. My most recent film of choice? Everyone’s favorite ‘80s teen movie: The Breakfast Club .

Now, before you call me out for being the last person on earth to see this iconic John Hughes’s film, it’s worth noting that I never even knew it existed until I was in high school myself. I’d heard it referenced a few times by classmates, but still, I didn’t have much interest because I was mostly drawn to Black sitcoms and movies at the time. As I grew older, I did have a better idea of the film’s plot and cultural impact. But even so, a teen comedy-drama that starred what appeared to be an all-white cast just didn’t appeal to me. So naturally, I figured I wasn’t missing out on much.

Boy , was I wrong.

It turns out The Breakfast Club is a coming-of-age masterpiece, and all it took for me to finally watch it was the perfect five-star rating on Amazon Prime . For those who aren’t familiar with the movie, it follows a group of five high school students (Claire, the popular girl; Andy, the jock, Alison, the outsider; Brian, the nerd; and Bender, the criminal) who are forced to spend their Saturday in detention at the school library. What starts off as an awkward meeting between students that would never even sit at the same lunch table, turns into a day of bonding and mischief that leads to a shift in everyone’s perspective.

I was so impressed by how the teenage experience was handled, but more importantly, there are some powerful lessons to be learned from this ragtag group. Read on for my honest thoughts and why this 1985 movie still serves as a great reminder that teens deserve better, even 36 years after its release.

1. It Challenges Harmful Stereotypes About Teenagers

In my opinion, Hollywood isn’t the best place to turn to if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the teenage mindset. Most films tend to paint adolescents as shallow and self-obsessed kids who only care about losing their virginity or getting wasted at raging parties (see: Superbad ). But with The Breakfast Club , Hughes, its screenwriter and director, doesn’t exaggerate these common tropes or paint the students in a negative light. Instead, it goes deeper by revealing each character’s backstory in a way that feels sincere.

For instance, take the scene where the characters gather for a little group therapy. Brian “the nerd” (Anthony Michael Hall) kicks things off by asking the group if they’ll still be friends when they return on Monday, and after Claire “the popular girl” (Molly Ringwald) gives a rather blunt answer, the group calls her out for being dismissive. Feeling attacked, Claire tearfully confesses that she hates being pressured to go along with what her friends say, just for the sake of being popular. But then, Brian reveals that he’s the one whose been under real pressure, as he nearly committed suicide over a failing grade (even Bender “the bad boy” seems as shook by this news as I was!).

Because of these vulnerable moments, I saw these characters as complex beings with depth, people who longed for change and wanted to find themselves along the way.

Another big highlight is that these teens managed to bond in spite of their differences (because yes, it is possible for people from two different social cliques to mingle and be friends!). In most teen films, for some odd reason, these groups always steer clear of others who don’t fit into their social bubble, and while that may be the case in some schools, it feels way too exaggerated and unrealistic.

2. It Shows That Parents And Adults Aren’t The Only Ones Dealing With Disrespectful Behavior

It’s typical to hear that teens are disrespectful towards their parents, but The Breakfast Club actually does a stellar job of highlighting why that may be the case.

For instance, take Miss Trunchbull’s reincarnate, Vice Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason), who’d go to great lengths to teach the kids a lesson—even if it means verbally abusing them. In one scene, he locks Bender in a storage closet for breaking the rules, then he actually tries to provoke him into throwing a punch to prove his toughness. Add this terrifying incident to Bender’s problematic home life, and you can’t help but feel for the seemingly thick-skinned Bender, who’s been dealing with emotional and physical abuse from his dad.

Of course, this isn’t to say that every adult is like this or that all parents have problematic parenting techniques . However, the examples in the film, from Andy’s overbearing dad to Allison’s neglectful parents, speak to the very real trauma kids learn to sweep under the rug and cope in the only ways their adolescent minds know how.

If The Breakfast Club illustrates anything, it’s that teenagers don’t want to be looked down upon as immature, disrespectful and entitled. They want to be valued and taken seriously, especially when it comes to their passions. Also, contrary to what most teen house party films might tell you, teenagers are a lot smarter and more resilient than the adult world realizes.

Given that they’re still in the process of growing and carving their own paths, teens not only deserve to be treated with respect by the adults in their lives, but they also deserve acceptance and support from their peers and the institutions they move through (ahem, talking to you Vice Principal Vernon).

3. The Writing In This Movie Is Spectacular

There are so many quotable moments, and they’re a testament to screenwriter John Hughes’ creativity and wit. Every other line from Bender is just priceless, from “Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?” to "Screws fall out all the time. The world’s an imperfect place.” Another standout quote comes from Andy, when he shares this insightful tidbit with Claire: “We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.”

But the best quote of all, hands down, would have to be Brian’s, aka the brain of the group. In his essay to Mr. Vernon, he manages to perfectly sum up the group when he writes, “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 and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.”

4. The Cast Is Incredible

Ringwald is the quintessential it-girl. Estevez is at his best as the overconfident jock. Ally Sheedy is very convincing as the odd-ball outsider, and Anthony Michael Hall embodies nearly every high school overachiever. But as impressed as I am by their performances, Nelson is the one who stands out. He does a stellar job as the rebellious “criminal,” but underneath that tough exterior is a smart and self-aware teen who’s trying to hide his suffering.

From powerful performances to smart one-liners, I now understand why so many people love this movie. There’s no way I’m forgetting about this one.

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The breakfast club, common sense media reviewers.

Classic '80s teen movie has mature themes, profanity.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Mixed messages. Positive themes include communicat

Characters are complex, with many layers and flaws

Cast is entirely White, with no notable diversity

A teen wields a knife but doesn't use it. He shows

Teens are pressed to discuss virginity. A teen boy

"Damn," "screw," "nuts," "turd," "dildo," "puke,"

Students drink Coke.

Teens smoke pot, with positive consequences (it he

Parents need to know that The Breakfast Club is a popular '80s film that deals with edgy teen issues. Topics such as suicide, depression, social alienation, materialism, sex, and physical and emotional abuse are discussed openly. The teen characters use very strong language, including "f--k," mock authority…

Positive Messages

Mixed messages. Positive themes include communication and empathy and that stereotyping people is a bad idea. However, even though movie positions itself as disparaging peer pressure and social falsehood, the five teens all succumb to peer pressure immediately by not telling on the disruptive Bender, who abuses them and also breaks the rules.

Positive Role Models

Characters are complex, with many layers and flaws. A main goal is to reveal the truth behind teens' facades and stereotypical assumptions. And some teens rise to defend others who are being taunted. But high school students also show disrespect toward authority figures and each other, and many grapple with serious anxieties and insecurities: A great student feels bad about doing well. A varsity wrestler feels bad about being pressed by his father to excel. A popular girl feels bad that her high status forces her to shun less popular kids; she suggests that popularity is a burden but doesn't want to relinquish her position. "Being bad feels pretty good" is a disruptive student's comment to another who's enlisted in a prank. A teen defiantly vandalizes school and student property and verbally abuses his fellow students.

Diverse Representations

Cast is entirely White, with no notable diversity in any area of representation. Anti-gay slurs.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A teen wields a knife but doesn't use it. He shows a scar, claiming it was caused when his father burned him with a lit cigar. Reacting to a bully, a teen threatens to beat the bully up. A teen describes taping a weaker kid's buttocks together. Another teen describes suicidal ideation/plans due to a low grade. A teacher shoves a bully and threatens to beat him up. A janitor blackmails a teacher. A sexual assault situation portrays the victim as ultimately empathizing with and choosing to make out with her violator.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Teens are pressed to discuss virginity. A teen boy places his head between a girl's knees without her consent. A student pretends to be a "nymphomaniac" and claims someone "nailed me." Many sexual references: "Did you slip her the hot beef injection?" "Riding the hobby horse?" A girl kisses a boy she had seemed to hate.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"Damn," "screw," "nuts," "turd," "dildo," "puke," "beaver shot," "slut," "ass," "s--t," "f--k," "bitch," "shut up," "pr--k," "scumbag," "f-g," and "f--got."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Teens smoke pot, with positive consequences (it helps them start getting along). One smokes cigarettes in the school library. A student claims to drink vodka.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Breakfast Club is a popular '80s film that deals with edgy teen issues. Topics such as suicide, depression, social alienation, materialism, sex, and physical and emotional abuse are discussed openly. The teen characters use very strong language, including "f--k," mock authority figures, and smoke pot in the school library (which is when they finally start getting along, so it's not presented with negative consequences). One also smokes cigarettes, pulls out a switchblade, and makes lewd gestures. He reveals cigar burns on his body as evidence of his father's abuse. Gallantly reacting to a bully, a teen threatens to beat the bully up. But the same teen also describes taping a weaker kid's buttocks together as a "prank." A student tells about his suicidal ideation due to a low grade. A teacher shoves a bully and threatens to beat him up. In one scene, a teen boy puts his head between a teen girl's legs even though she repeatedly tells him to leave her alone; despite this assault and his humiliation of her, she later makes out with him, which sends a very mixed message. The film does encourage the breakdown of stereotypes and social barriers as a means of identification and improved communication, and the characters' honesty has always resonated very strongly with many real-life teens. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Kids say (219)

Based on 49 parent reviews

Best movie ever

Should actually be rated pg13, what's the story.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB is the story of five high school students who rank high and low in popularity and who are forced to spend nine hours together in Saturday detention. Without the whole school watching, Brian "The Brain" ( Anthony Michael Hall ), Claire "The Princess" ( Molly Ringwald ), Andy "The Jock" ( Emilio Estevez ), Allison "The Basket Case" ( Ally Sheedy ), and Bender "The Misfit" ( Judd Nelson ) eventually discard their differences, discussing the events that brought them to detention. Gradually they come to realize that underneath the trappings of the high school social scene, the problems they face are more similar than they think. Brian suffers extreme pressure by his parents to maintain a perfect grade point average. Claire insists that being rich and the most popular girl at school has its downfalls. Andy wants only to please his father, even if it means acting against his own moral code. Allison seeks attention from her father through aberrant behavior. And Bender reacts to physical and verbal abuse at home by defying authority, committing petty theft, and damaging school property.

Is It Any Good?

Despite its occasional heavy-handedness, the film is an earnest, engaging attempt at portraying teens and their problems in a realistic light. Writer-director John Hughes ' film deals with very mature issues regarding family and school that both teens and parents can relate to. On the outside, the five may seem like clichéd stereotypes, yet as The Breakfast Club progresses, their confessions as to why they're in detention reveal a greater depth to their personas.

Solid performances by the "Brat Pack" -- Ringwald, Nelson, Hall, Estevez, and Sheedy -- coupled with Hughes' witty dialogue, choice direction, and ability to balance drama and humor made it one of the most enduring, quotable teen films of all time. A great choice for older teens.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how relevant and realistic they feel The Breakfast Club is. Teens: Do you feel that your high school has a similar clique structure?

Why do you think this movie is considered a teen classic? If you could update it, how would you do it, and whom would you cast? How do you think the story would change if the characters were more diverse?

Allison describes Bender's question about Claire's virginity as a "double-edged sword," stating, "Well, if you say you haven't ... you're a prude. If you say you have ... you're a slut." Talk about society's views about sex and gender. Do teens still feel this double standard is in effect?

How do the characters in The Breakfast Club demonstrate communication and empathy ? Why are these important character strengths ?

How does the movie portray drug use ? What message does it send that the teens get along better after they smoke pot together?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 15, 1985
• On DVD or streaming : April 28, 1998
• Cast : Ally Sheedy , Anthony Michael Hall , Emilio Estevez , Judd Nelson , Molly Ringwald
• Director : John Hughes
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Drama
• Character Strengths : Communication , Empathy
• Run time : 97 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• Last updated : May 25, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘breakfast at tiffany’s’: thr’s 1961 review.

On October 5, 1961, the Audrey Hepburn film premiered in New York.

By James Powers

James Powers

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On October 5, 1961, the Audrey Hepburn classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, premiered in New York. The film would go on to earn 5 Oscar nominations at the 34th Academy Awards, winning two honors for its music.  The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

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Miss Hepburn plays the central figure, a woman like many others in Manhattan, who dresses well and dines well, living chiefly on the “ladies room” change given her by her escort. If the escort of the evening thinks a $50 “tip” pays for something later, this is not how Miss Hepburn plays it. She is, the picture makes clear, immoral but virtuous. Her values undergo a change from her exposure to George Peppard , a young writer, who convinces her responsibility is less confining than her studied irresponsibility.

Edwards’ direction is smart; he has a way with fashionable comedy. Axelrod’s treatment of the Capote story is convincing in the changes it has made although some of his devices are disappointing, being overly familiar. The script is not altogether neat. No justification or explanation is ever made of why Peppard is being kept by a wealthy lady, except that he is a writer and writers, presumably, get involved in things like that.

Franz Planer’s Technicolor photography is beautifully balanced, the color for once the same tones throughout, whether exteriors or studio shots. Hal Pereira and Roland Anderson have done imaginative settings, with good set decoration by Sam Comer and Ray Moyer. Sound by Hugo Grenzbach and John Wilkinson is first-rate, and William McGarry’s editing is excellent. Henry Mancini’s score is another plus. — James Powers

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'Unfrosted': A look at Netflix's breakfast comedy movie's iconic filming locations

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: We take you behind the scenes of the highly anticipated Netflix comedy, Unfrosted , offering insights into the locations that set the stage for this uproarious tale. Directed by comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld, 'Unfrosted' promises to tickle the audience's funny bones while serving up a slice of breakfast history.

Venture back to the swinging sixties, specifically 1963, where the battle for breakfast domination unfolds in the heart of Michigan. The narrative centers on two breakfast behemoths, Kellogg's and Post Cereal, as they engage in a cutthroat rivalry to concoct the ultimate morning pastry. Picture a landscape dotted with vintage charm and nostalgic flair, where every corner promises laughter and mischief.

But what adds authenticity to the film's backdrop is its filming locations. From the bustling streets to the storied halls of the USA, the cameras roll amidst iconic settings, capturing the essence of a bygone era. Notably, 'Unfrosted' received a coveted tax credit to film in California, further solidifying its ties to the Golden State.

Let's delve into the making of this hilarious journey, tracing the footsteps of comedy royalty and exploring the places that brought 'Unfrosted' to life.

Los Angeles, California, USA

'Unfrosted' unfolds its comedic saga against the vibrant backdrop of California, where the production team capitalized on the state's diverse locales to bring the story to life. With a coveted tax credit secured in February 2022, filming commenced on May 25 of the same year, kicking off in the bustling streets of Los Angeles.

Here, the city's iconic landmarks and dynamic urban landscape served as the perfect canvas for the breakfast battle between Kellogg's and Post Cereal. But the cinematic journey didn't end there.

University of California, Irvine

Venturing beyond the city limits, the production team found themselves amidst the picturesque setting of the University of California, Irvine. Amidst its sprawling campus and collegiate charm, key scenes of rivalry and hilarity unfolded, adding depth and authenticity to the film's narrative.

From the sun-drenched streets of LA to the academic halls of UC Irvine, California's diverse scenery played a pivotal role in shaping the visual tapestry of "Unfrosted," ensuring that every frame brimmed with laughter and nostalgia.

How to stream 'Unfrosted'?

'Unfrosted' will stream on Netflix from May 3, 2024.

Access to the film requires a Netflix membership, available starting from $6.99/month for the standard plan with ads.

The standard plan without ads is priced at $15.49/month, while the Premium plan costs $22.99/month.

'Unfrosted' trailer  

'Unfrosted' will be available to stream on May 3

'Las Vegas' Cast Then and Now: Hit drama series' actors had big career successes even after show ended

'The Breakfast Club' 1985 review: Nothing you haven't heard before

Anthony Michael Hall, left, and Judd Nelson star in the 1985 John Hughes classic "The Breakfast Club." Credit: Universal Pictures

"The Breakfast Club" is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special theatrical re-release on Thursday and next Tuesday. Here is Newsday's 2-star review of the movie, that ran on Feb. 15, 1985, in which critic Joseph Gelmis said that a good cast was limited by the film's group therapy format.

In "The Breakfast Club," five students at a Chicago suburban high school bare their souls to each other during nine hours of detention one Saturday in 1984.

Their main topic, as they toke up and open up, is their parents. Their parents don't understand them. Their parents make their lives miserable by paying too much attention to them or not enough.

"My home life is unsatisfying," says a student. "Well," says another, everyone's home life is unsatisfying. Otherwise nobody would ever leave home." Someone asks, "Are we gonna be like our parents?" The reply: "It's unavoidable. When you grow up, your heart dies."

The father of the jock (Emilio Estevez) does his thinking for him. The brain (Anthony Michael Hall) has contemplated suicide because his father demands straight A's. The brutish father of the rebel (Judd Nelson) beats him.

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When they finish explaining what's wrong with their parents, they analyze their other big problem: peer pressure. These five kids -- the three boys and two girls, an upper-middle-class princess (Molly Ringwald) and a congenital recluse (Ally Sheedy), acknowledge they are prisoners of a student caste system that segregates them.

It should be clear, at this point, that "The Breakfast Club" is a group therapy variation on an otherwise familiar collective portrait of a high school class. Virtually the entire movie takes place inside the lofty school library and a few other rooms in the building. The two adults in residence are the dean of students (Paul Gleason), jailer and bully for a day, and the janitor (John Kapelos), a pragmatist who knows too many of the institution's secrets to be a moralist.

Given the simplistic treatment of subject matter and the dramatic limitations of confining the cast and action to a single set, "The Breakfast Club" is slightly more interesting than one might expect. Writer-director John Hughes, whose previous film was "Sixteen Candles," choreographs the moves and verbal sparring and intimate disclosures of his young performers like a ritual tribal ceremony.

Nelson, as the troublemaker Bender, is very effective in the role of the provocateur who disrupts the orderliness of the detention session and leads the others in defying the rules. ("Being bad is fun, huh?" he says with a leer, before turning them on with pot.) Nelson has the best lines in the movie. When he first enters the detention room, he taunts the dean of students: "Does Barry Manilow know you raided his closet?"

Bender and the dean are natural enemies. And Bender's inflammatory disrespect goads the dean into a sanctimonious fury. It takes a few beers in the basement with the janitor, apparently a contemporary of his, to cool the dean down. "If you were 16," the janitor asks the dean, "what would you think of you?" The dean shakes his head.

As each of the five students does his or her emotional striptease, we have to respect their suffering. To share the growing pains of troubled kids is to become a godparent. You owe them your goodwill and best wishes. Finally, that's all these five students can evoke. Nothing really changes. You hear nothing you haven't heard before. But you know that for them it is happening for the first time, and they deserve compassion. I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to see "The Breakfast Club."

WHEN | WHERE 7:30 p.m. Thursday and March 31, Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas, 1001 Broad Hollow Rd.; UA Westbury Stadium 12, 7000 Brush Hollow Rd.; Island 16 Cinema De Lux, 185 Morris Ave., Holtsville; AMC Loews Stony Brook 17, 2196 Nesconset Hwy.; and UA Hampton Bays 5, 119 W. Montauk Hwy.

INFO $12.50-$13.50; fathomevents.com

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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader : John Hughes's 1985 film seems meant to explain 80s youngsters to yesterday's youth, and comes to the comforting conclusion that they're just as alienated, idealistic, and vulnerable as the baby boomers of the 1960s. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post : In nine hours of threatening, bickering and, eventually, poignant (but never maudlin) self-revelation, the stereotypes dissolve and re-form. Read more

Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter : While meticulously drawn, the film's characters are so stereotypically representative that only the lamest of moviegoers will not determine their respective backgrounds and problems long before the plodding movie does. Read more

Joseph Gelmis, Newsday : Nothing really changes. You hear nothing you haven't heard before. But you know that for them it is happening for the first time, and they deserve compassion. I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to see "The Breakfast Club." Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday : Rarely have on-screen teens felt this authentic. They bluster, bicker and trade horrible insults (whence the film's R rating), then suddenly expose their most guarded feelings. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek : Hughes may deserve more plaudits as a social worker than a filmmaker, but you have to admit his hokey situation plays. The reason is the five terrific young actors, who bring more conviction to these parts than they perhaps deserve. Read more

Kathleen Carroll, New York Daily News : Hughes has a wonderful knack for communicating the feelings of teenagers, as well as an obvious rapport with his exceptional cast - who deserve top grades. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews : In The Breakfast Club, Hughes has created a surprisingly enduring motion picture that is still effective 13 years after its theatrical debut. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times : The Breakfast Club doesn't need earthshaking revelations; it's about kids who grow willing to talk to one another, and it has a surprisingly good ear for the way they speak. Read more

Time Out : An iconic movie of the '80s, with all the unappealing baggage that suggests. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety : Does director John Hughes really believe, as he writes here, that 'when you grow up, your heart dies.' It may. But not unless the brain has already started to rot with films like this. Read more

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"Broadcast News" is as knowledgeable about the TV news-gathering process as any movie ever made, but it also has insights into the more personal matter of how people use high-pressure jobs as a way of avoiding time alone with themselves. The movie, opening today at the Fine Arts, is described as being about a romantic triangle, but that's only partly true. It is about three people who toy with the idea of love, but are obsessed by the idea of making television.

Deadline pressure attracts people like that. The newspapers are filled with them, as are ad agencies, brokerages, emergency rooms, show business, sales departments and police and fire stations. There's a certain adrenalin charge in delivering on a commitment at the last moment, in rushing out to be an instant hero or an instant failure. There's a kind of person who calls you up to shout into the phone, "I can't talk to you now - I'm busy!" This kind of person is always busy, because the lifestyle involves arranging things so you're always behind. Given plenty of time to complete a job, you wait until the last moment to start - guaranteeing a deadline rush.

I know all about that kind of obsession. (You don't think I'm turning this review in early, do you?) "Broadcast News" understands it from the inside out, and perhaps the most interesting sequence in the whole movie is a scene where a network news producer sweats it out with a videotape editor to finish a report that is scheduled to appear on the evening news in 52 seconds. In an atmosphere like that, theoretical questions get lost. The operational reality, day after day, is to get the job done and beat the deadline and make things look as good as possible. Positive feedback goes to people who deliver. Yesterday's job is forgotten. What have you got for me today?

Right at the center of "Broadcast News" is a character named Jane Craig ( Holly Hunter ), who is a news writer-producer for the Washington bureau of a TV network. She is smart and fast, and she cherishes certain beliefs about TV news - one of them being that a story should be covered by the person best-qualified to cover it.

One of her best friends is Aaron Altman ( Albert Brooks ), a bright, aggressive reporter. He's one of the best in the business, but he's not especially good on camera. During a trip South, she meets Tom Grunick ( William Hurt ), a sportscaster who cheerfully admits he has little education, is not a good reader, and doesn't know much about current events. But he has been hired for the Washington bureau because he looks good and has a natural relationship with the camera.

The Hunter character is only human. She is repelled by this guy's credentials, but she likes his body. After he comes to Washington, he quickly gains the attention of the network brass, while the Brooks character goes into eclipse. Hunter is torn between the two men: Brooks, who says he loves her and is the better reporter, and Hurt, who says he wants to learn, and who is sexier.

The tricky thing about "Broadcast News" - the quality in director James L. Brooks ' screenplay that makes it so special - is that all three characters have a tendency to grow emotionally absent-minded when it's a choice between romance and work. Frankly, they'd rather work. After Hunter whispers into Hurt's earpiece to talk him through a crucial live report on a Middle East crisis, he kneels at her feet and says it was like sex, having her voice inside his head. He never gets that excited about sex. Neither does she.

Much of the plot of "Broadcast News" centers around a piece that Hurt reports about "date rape." Listening to one woman's story, he is so moved that a tear trickles down his cheek. It means a great deal to Hunter whether that tear is real or faked. Experienced TV people will question why Hunter, a veteran producer, didn't immediately notice the detail that bothers her so much later on. But in a way, "Broadcast News" is not about details, but about the larger question of whether TV news is becoming show business.

Jack Nicholson has an unbilled supporting role in the movie as the network's senior anchorman, an irascible man who has high standards himself, but is not above seeing his ratings assisted by coverage that may be questionable.

The implication is that the next anchor will be a William Hurt type, great on camera, but incapable of discerning authenticity from fakery. Meanwhile, the Albert Brooks types will end up doing superior journalism in smaller "markets" (the TV word for "cities"), and the Holly Hunter types will keep on fighting all the old deadlines, plus a new one: the biological clock.

"Broadcast News" has a lot of interesting things to say about television. But the thing it does best is look into a certain kind of personality and a certain kind of relationship. Like " Terms of Endearment ," the previous film by James L. Brooks, it does not see relationships as a matter of meeting someone you like and falling in love. Brooks, almost alone among major Hollywood filmmakers, knows that some people have higher priorities than love, and deeper fears.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Broadcast News (1987)

133 minutes

William Hurt as Tom Grunick

Albert Brooks as Aaron Altman

Holly Hunter as Jane Craig

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Written, produced and directed by

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has all the trappings of a prequel that exists to milk a hit movie. Does that matter?

For a 45-year-old franchise that began as a scuzzy, low-budget exploitation movie set in a near-future Australia, George Miller's Mad Max series has extracted a surprising amount of mileage from its rusty tank of guzzoline.

Like any vintage model, though, it's also starting to show some signs of wear and tear in the chassis.

Directed with age-defying vigour by the 79-year-old Miller, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the series' fifth and latest instalment, and a prequel to 2015's widely beloved, Oscar-winning hit Mad Max: Fury Road.

By most measures of action-movie mayhem, Furiosa is a raging good time — but it's also the first film in the series that feels like it's spinning its wheels, at a loss for new ideas to match its execution.

Though conceived in tandem with Fury Road, Furiosa has all the trappings of a prequel that exists to milk a hit movie by filling in backstory — whether or not audiences were exactly clamouring for it.

Just how did Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in the previous film, come to acquire her fearsome cybernetic arm? What was the reason for her buzzcut, anyway? How did she come to be in the employ of the monstrous Immortan Joe, and hatch a plan to betray him? (Admittedly, the arm bit is a doozy.)

At its best, Furiosa is less concerned with answering these questions than exploring the cycle of violence inflicted upon successive generations — a theme that's writ large, if not always elegantly, in its simple tale of revenge.

For the adolescent Furiosa (a wonderful Alyla Browne), the seeds of that violence are sown when she's kidnapped from her lush, verdant homeland and delivered into the clutches of Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), a warlord who rides a three-motorcycle chariot as he leads his army of scavengers across the Wasteland.

As played by a broad, mugging Hemsworth — complete with prosthetic nose and goofy Australian accent — Dementus isn't the least bit terrifying. The star is far too amiable to be convincingly grotesque, though you're never quite sure when he might snap.

He's certainly not above drawing and quartering his enemies by stringing their limbs to motorbikes, and he's plenty sadistic when confronting Furiosa's mother (Charlee Fraser, whose face was made to fill the movie's stark, widescreen vistas).

Dementus also has crackpot designs on overthrowing the Citadel, the fortress run by Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) and his knucklehead sons Scabrous Scrotus and Rictus Erectus (it's a relief to know Miller's juvenile sense of humour hasn't changed) — which goes about as well as you might expect.

It's soon an all-out war between madmen, with Furiosa caught in between; she's traded into Immortan Joe's service as a future bride, biding her time to exact vengeance.

If Furiosa is too polished to summon the desperation of the earlier Mad Max films, then there's something endearing about Miller's commitment to the series' core spirit, which remains essentially loud, feral and a little bit sentimental.

A sense of hope, however twisted, has always run through the series, and Furiosa — played in the film's second half as a young woman by Anya Taylor-Joy — is one of Miller's most expressive, emotionally rich creations, an avatar of survival against post-apocalyptic adversity.

In a performance of few words (she only has about 30 lines in the whole film), Taylor-Joy gives the Furiosa its blast of star power, bringing the kind of silent-movie intensity the series hasn't seen since Mel Gibson wandered off into the sunset back in the 80s.

For all its sound and fury, many of the film's more memorable moments are its most simple: images of its star set against the vast, elemental landscape, or framed like Joan of Arc on a gate that resembles a burning cross. Taylor-Joy pops against the dirt and grime and the ochre desert, against the grotesque Australian masculinity that has long been the series' gleeful stock in trade.

It's hard not to be entertained by it all, especially when Miller and his stunt team have a monster tow-truck menacing a V8 in a tense chase snaking across the sand dunes, or when they unfurl a parachute that looks like an alien jellyfish bearing down on an oil tanker.

But the storytelling dictates of a prequel appear to have shrunk Miller's vision. The movie's greatest villain isn't Dementus, or even Immortan Joe — it's that shady spectre we might call the Great Expositor, whose love of backstory is scarier than any grill-faced gimp with a chainsaw.

Where each of the previous films introduced new ideas, or progressed the story and theme, Furiosa is more or less content to lap the same premise.

Fury Road already had the whiff of a beefed-up, re-recorded greatest hits set; Furiosa merely recycles the off-cuts, albeit with the best equipment in the game. The series' once-durable mythology is at risk of becoming a brand extension.

In another sense, Furiosa might be said to come full circle to the series' 1979 original, a movie steeped in carnage and loss that set off a cycle of violence from which its hero could never completely escape. (There's even a shot here that mirrors, and up-ends, the first film's grisly image of Max's wife being run down by bandits.)

Yet what was once spare and brutal has become cluttered and over-extended — even if the soul is still there, rattling around somewhere in the engine.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in cinemas now.

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‘Sight’ Review: An Eye Doctor’s (Inner) Journey From China

Based on the real life of the pioneering ophthalmologist Ming Wang, this movie follows the character’s struggle to see inside himself.

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By Glenn Kenny

Ming Wang, the real-life physician whose biography is the basis for this fictional feature, is a Nashville-based ophthalmologist whose degree in laser physics has presumably been a boon in his work restoring sight to visually impaired patients, many of whom are children.

As is the custom with inspirational medical movies, however, the new film “Sight,” directed by Andrew Hyatt, leans hard into uplift — it provides only the narrative-necessary minimum of the science. Wang’s achievement in developing innovative technology is central to one of the stories here, yes. But the dominating narrative is one of personal growth.

Weaving several decades’ worth of flashbacks into its action, otherwise set in 2006, the movie shows Wang’s traumatic childhood in Hangzhou, China, where he and his friend Lili are terrorized by the Cultural Revolution’s Red Guard. He wants to be a doctor like his father, who tells him his best “chance” in life is to “become a musician.” You don’t hear that too often.

Brilliant at school, Wang is able to make his way to M.I.T., but even in the elite educational environments he passes through, he’s discouraged from pursuing his dreams of becoming a physician. These trials leave Wang with a defensive ego and a tendency to shut out others emotionally. He’s forced to deal with failure and to learn to trust.

All of this is laid out in competent commonplace fashion, with the principal actors Terry Chen, Greg Kinnear and the always welcome Fionnula Flanagan displaying the expected professionalism.

Wang has written a memoir in which he discusses his Christian faith in some detail. The film proper does not. But the faith-friendly distributor, Angel Films, has appended to the feature a “Pay It Forward” coda (similar to that on their 2023 release “Sound of Freedom”) in which the real Wang testifies to his spirituality.

Sight Rated PG-13 for thematic material, mild violence. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this review described incorrectly Hangzhou, where a character grew up. It is a city in China, not a province.

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Movie Review: Glen Powell gives big leading man energy in ‘Hit Man’

This image released by Netflix shows Adria Arjona, left, and Glen Powell in a scene from “Hit Man.” (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Glen Powell in a scene from “Hit Man.” (Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Glen Powell, left, and Richard Robichaux in a scene from “Hit Man.” (Netflix via AP)

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For a guy like Glen Powell, the ascent to movie stardom isn’t really a question. It’s more like an inevitability.

Blessed with that square jawline, those bright green eyes, a flop of dirty blonde hair and the kind of symmetrical smile that would seem suspect if it weren’t so darn charming, he’s a Disney prince before they all became the bad guys. And he’s got the kind of effortless, high-wattage charisma that ensures a career beyond soaps and procedurals, the typical resting ground for the laughably handsome. Powell has something, you believe, going on behind the eyes.

This is all to say that suspension of disbelief is a prerequisite going into “Hit Man,” a decently entertaining action-comedy-romance about a fake hit man from filmmaker Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script with Powell. It’s making a brief stop in theaters starting Friday before hitting Netflix on June 7.

Based on a “somewhat true story” though it may be, this is a film that asks its audience to buy into the idea that the characters in this film believe that Powell’s face is bland and forgettable. This has everything to do with his character, Gary Johnson, a philosophy professor in New Orleans who lives a quiet, solitary life in the suburbs tending to his two cats, birding, tinkering with electronics and helping the local police install surveillance equipment for sting operations. He drives a Honda Civic and wears ill-fitting polo shirts, knee-length jean shorts and socks with his semi-orthopedic sandals. And, of course, like many hot guys in disguise before him, he’s got a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. Why he dresses like your middle-aged uncle in 1992 is anyone’s guess. Were he in Bushwick, it might not even look odd. But this is a movie and we know that Gary is predestined for a glow-up.

Not that “Hit Man” allows itself to have any fun with the makeover aspect. No, once plain Gary is thrown into this amateur undercover work (by Retta and Sanjay Rao), we only get to see the final looks he wears to meet all the people looking to hire a hit man. He dips into the theatrical for these occasions, sporting wigs, makeup, accents and fake tattoos in his attempt to be what he thinks each specific person thinks a hit man should be, which is moderately amusing.

But besides a brief bit showing him watching a wig-and-makeup YouTube tutorial, his transformations are not exactly investigated. There’s no shopping montage, no Harvey Fierstein-type character helping him find his way around the college theater department’s costume room, and no apparent budgetary concerns or discussions, which seems odd for a guy who is only doing this undercover stuff for an extra paycheck. In a movie that perhaps had a better engine behind it, questions like these might evaporate with the laughter and enjoyment of a fairly silly premise. “Hit Man” does not quite have that, though. Again, that suspension of disbelief is necessary.

Things do pick up with the introduction of The Girl, Madison (Adria Arjona, terrific despite being awfully underdeveloped), an unhappy wife looking to get rid of her cruel husband. Gary meets her as “Ron,” who acts and dresses like the leading man of an action movie, or a cocky off-duty movie star, with well-fitting jeans and tight henleys and cool-guy jackets showing off his inexplicably ripped physique.

And he treats Madison differently than the many other characters he’s helped put behind bars whose stupidity, trashiness and ugliness are all played for madcap comedic effect. She, he decides, doesn’t really want this — a grace he extends to no one else. He talks her out of hiring him to kill the bad husband, whom she promptly leaves without incident before moving into a nice house and beginning a steamy romance with Ron.

Again, questions arise about how this woman whose husband didn’t allow her to work and who was so scared of him that she was ready to hire a hit man has managed to escape so smoothly. But, you know, good for her and good for us because the chemistry between her and Powell is electric and ravenous, up there with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in “Out of Sight.”

But the honeymoon only lasts so long and things soon get tricky as Ron starts to become Gary’s dominant character. This all builds to a fairly exciting third act with the introduction of an actual murder and the possibility of being exposed by an increasingly suspicious and crooked cop (played with slimy perfection by Austin Amelio). And you can’t help shake the feeling that it needed something else: a bigger twist, a stickier conflict, some heightened stakes.

“Hit Man” was a movie that got some breathless praise out of the fall film festivals, which might be to its detriment. It’s perfectly enjoyable: a glossy, easy-to-digest Powell showcase that isn’t trying to be anything but fun. But the second coming of the action-comedy-romance, it is not.

“Hit Man,” a Netflix release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “language throughout, sexual content and some violence.” Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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'Atlas' review: Jennifer Lopez befriends an AI in her scrappy new Netflix space movie

Just when you think you’ve seen everything, here comes a movie where Jennifer Lopez tries to out-sass a computer program.

Jenny from the Block is in her Iron Man era with “Atlas” (★★½ out of four; rated PG-13; streaming now on Netflix ), a sci-fi action thriller directed by Brad Peyton ( “San Andreas” ) that pairs two hot commodities: a pop-culture superstar and artificial intelligence.

The movie shares aspects with a bevy of films like “Blade Runner,” “The Terminator,” "The Iron Giant" and “Pacific Rim,” and it’s best to not think too hard about the science involved. Yet there’s a scrappiness to “Atlas” that pairs well with a human/machine bonding narrative and a fish-out-of-water Lopez trying to figure out how to work a super cool, high-tech armored suit and not die spectacularly.

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But “Atlas” doesn’t have the best start, beginning with the mother of exposition dumps: In the future, AI has evolved to a dangerous degree and a robotic terrorist named Harlan (a charmless Simu Liu) has turned genocidal, wanting to wipe out most of mankind. He’s defeated and retreats into space, vowing to return, and in the ensuing 28 years, counterterrorism analyst Atlas Shepherd – whose mother invented Harlan and made him part of their family before he went bad – has been trying to find him.

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She’s distrustful of Al and also most humans: The antisocial Atlas’ only true love is coffee but she’s also crazy smart, and she figures out the galaxy where Harlan’s hiding. Atlas forces herself on a military space mission run by a no-nonsense colonel (Sterling K. Brown) to track down Harlan, but amid a sneak attack by cyborg bad guys, Atlas has to hop in a mech suit to survive. The caveat: to run the thing, she has to create a neural link with an onboard AI named Smith (voiced by Gregory James Cohan).

Streaming preview: 15 new movies you'll want to watch this summer, from 'Atlas' to 'Beverly Hills Cop 4'

Obviously, there’s a climactic throwdown with Harlan – you don’t need ChatGPT to figure out the predictable plot – and there are plenty of action scenes with spotty visual effects. But “Atlas” cooks most when it’s just Atlas and Smith, sniping and snarking at each other: He fixes her broken leg, her cursing expands his vocabulary, and slowly they figure out a way to coexist and become a formidable fighting unit. 

Lopez does well with the buddy comedy vibe as well as her whole "Atlas" character arc. The fact that she starts as a misanthropic hot mess – even her hair is unruly, though still movie star-ready – makes her an appealing character, one you root for as she becomes besties with a computer and finds herself in mortal danger every five minutes.

While “Atlas” doesn’t top the J. Lo movie canon – that’s rarefied air for the likes of “Out of Sight” and “Hustlers” – it’s certainly more interesting than a lot of her rom-com output . Her action-oriented vehicles such as this and the assassin thriller “The Mother,” plus B-movie “Anaconda” and sci-fi film “The Cell” back in the day, show a willing gameness to venture outside her A-list box.

It also helps when she finds the right dance partner – in this case, a wily AI. And in “Atlas,” that unlikely friendship forgives the bigger glitches.

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Peter bart: coppola’s utopian epic stirs debate at cannes while former partner george lucas quietly sets his own pricey, futuristic surprise, ‘rumours’ review: guy maddin’s smart, sharp & quirky satire hits the bullseye for those who have the giant brain for it – cannes film festival.

By Stephanie Bunbury

Stephanie Bunbury

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Remember the communiqué from the Rambouillet G7 conference back in 1975? Of course they do. Tramping through a wooded estate somewhere in Germany, pursued by the zombie remains of Iron Age chieftains recently exhumed from the grounds of the nearby stately home, the leaders of the world’s richest democracies recite it by heart. What could be more stirring than a well-rounded public announcement that sounds grand, but doesn’t commit anyone to doing anything? A successful joint statement is a work of art.

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Cate Blanchett On Political G7 Satire ‘Rumours’: “It’s Not Trying To Be An Important Film With A Message” – Cannes

Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

Smart, sharp and quirky, Rumours is a more explicitly satirical work that we have come to expect from Canadian director Maddin, the outlier indie who has single-handedly put Winnipeg on the cinematic map. Sylvain, the French president, suggests that each of them embodies certain national characteristics that they could invoke in the document, comparing their negotiations to marriage counseling. He delivers this homily while sitting in a wheelbarrow, being pushed by Cardosa, the British PM — who is determined that work should go on, even as they flee the deserted mansion — after breaking his leg in a fight with a bog man.

Maddin shoots the misty woods and his parade of world leaders making their way through the dark as if he were telling a fairy tale; when Maxime, on one of his lone forays into enemy territory, discovers Célestine ( Alicia Vikander ), the president of the European Union, sitting in a pool of moonlight going through her notes and babbling in Swedish about the dawn of a new era (introduced by the giant brain rather than any miracle of unification wrought by Brussels), it is as if he is meeting a forest fairy. Sometime in the past, Maxime had a tumultuous love affair with Célestine. Maxime seems to have tumultuous episodes with every woman in politics. Even Hilde is driven to seduce him with some sexy talk about encouraging the private sector.

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Eccentric as they are, all these characters feel known and familiar, in the way that we might feel we know the real-life politicians constantly in the news, by the time they end up back at the mansion. Antonio is handing out smoked meats filched from the lunch buffet from a store in his pocket. Maxime is still weeping over his numerous lost loves. They have been summoned by a call from an AI bot posing as a lost child – a roving device designed to trap pedophiles, but effectively trapping them too given that they can’t desert a child – and raiding their G7 conference souvenir bags for snacks and space blankets.

Rumours is thick with these kinds of jokes. Anyone with a fascination for political process and the idiocies of bureaucracy will find one joke after another hitting the bullseye. For anyone else, it is mild fun at best: this is a film that, despite its general amiability, seems to divide audiences. But then, only a certain kind of person gets a kick out of the Treaty of Maastricht.

Title:  Rumours Festival:  Cannes (Competition) Distributor: Bleecker Street Directors:  Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson Screenwriter:  Evan Johnson Cast:  Cate Blanchett, Roy Dupuis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Charles Dance, Takehiro Hira, Denis Ménochet, Rolando Ravello, Zlatko Buric, Alicia Vikander Sales agent:  Protagonist Pictures Running time:  1hr 58 min

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