Hey movie fans get ready for a serious dose of 80s nostalgia! The Breakfast Club that iconic movie about detention angst and finding common ground is turning the big 4-0! And to celebrate the Brain the Athlete the Basket Case the Princess and the Criminal are getting back together!
Breakfast Club Reunion: See Anthony Michael Hall and the Whole Gang Together Again at C2E2!
Mark your calendars detention is officially scheduled! For the first time ever the full main cast of The Breakfast Club is reuniting. Emilio Estèvez Anthony Michael Hall Judd Nelson Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy will all be at C2E2 in Chicago this April. Can you believe it? It's been forty years since we first saw them in Saturday detention and now they are all in one place again. This is way better than getting stuck with Principal Vernon on a Saturday morning.
This is a huge deal for fans of the movie and for the cast too. Emilio Estèvez himself posted on Instagram about it saying "First time for everything. A reunion 40 years in the making. See you soon Chicago." C2E2 is calling it a "rare and exciting opportunity" and they are not wrong. You can catch the reunion all three days of C2E2 from April 11th to 13th at McCormick Place in Chicago. If you are lucky enough to be there you can grab autographs and photos with the cast. Even if you cannot make it to Chicago you can send in items to be signed. Just maybe skip sending a roll of tape that might be a bit too Principal Vernon for comfort.
Anthony Michael Hall: From Brainy Teen to Reacher Bad Guy and SNL Kid
Of course Anthony Michael Hall is a big part of this reunion. For many he will always be Brian Johnson the geeky brain of The Breakfast Club. But Hall has had a long and varied career since then. Did you know he was actually the youngest cast member ever on Saturday Night Live? He joined SNL way back when he was only 17 years old. That is pretty amazing.
Recently you might have seen Anthony Michael Hall in the show Reacher where he plays a character that is a far cry from Brian Johnson. He has moved from playing the lovable nerd to taking on more serious roles. But it is still cool to see him embrace his Breakfast Club past and celebrate this milestone anniversary with the rest of the cast.
Why The Breakfast Club Still Matters 40 Years Later: More Than Just Detention
Why are people still so obsessed with The Breakfast Club after all this time? It's more than just an 80s movie it really hit a nerve with a generation. The movie came out in 1985 and it spoke directly to Gen X kids who felt misunderstood and like they did not quite fit in. It used high school stereotypes the brain the athlete the basket case the princess and the criminal but then it showed that everyone is more complex than those labels. It explored teenage troubles anxiety and the search for identity in a way that felt real and relatable.
Even now in 2025 the movie still resonates. As one source mentioned "My youngest son loves this movie and he was born in the 21st century." The themes of feeling lost of trying to figure out your place and rebelling against expectations are timeless. Lines from the movie like "Screws fall out all the time the world is an imperfect place" and "You couldn’t ignore me if you tried" are still quoted today because they capture something true about the teenage experience and well just the human experience in general.
John Hughes: The Genius Behind Gen X Angst and Freedom
We cannot talk about The Breakfast Club without talking about John Hughes. He was the writer director and really the heart of so many iconic 80s movies . Hughes understood teenagers in a way that few adults did. He created movies that were funny silly but also surprisingly insightful and emotional.
Hughes movies often featured creative people struggling against peer pressure and societal expectations. They were about outsiders finding their way. They celebrated individuality and rebellion in a way that really spoke to Gen X. He captured the feeling of being stuck in suburbia feeling like no one understood you and wanting to break free.
While some critics have pointed out flaws and issues in his movies especially around representation and some of the humor there is no denying his impact. John Hughes really defined the middle class experience of Reagan's America and his movies continue to be loved and debated today. He was like the "Wordsworth of suburban America postwar generation" as one admirer put it. He gave a voice to a generation that felt like it was often overlooked.
5 Iconic Things About The Breakfast Club That Still Resonate Today
- The Characters: Brain Athlete Basket Case Princess and Criminal. These stereotypes are instantly recognizable and still relevant in high school today.
- The Setting: A Saturday detention in a school library. Simple but effective creating a pressure cooker environment for character development.
- The Dialogue: Witty honest and incredibly quotable. Lines from the movie are still part of pop culture language.
- The Music: The soundtrack especially "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds perfectly captures the movie's emotional core and 80s vibe.
- The Themes: Identity rebellion peer pressure class differences and the surprising connections we can make when we are vulnerable with each other. These themes are timeless.
Get Ready to Relive Detention: The Breakfast Club Reunion is a Must-See for 80s Movie Fans
So there you have it. The Breakfast Club cast is reuniting after 40 years and it is going to be epic. If you are a fan of the movie of 80s cinema or just want to see these iconic actors together again C2E2 in Chicago this April is the place to be. It's a chance to celebrate a movie that really defined a generation and that still speaks to people today. Don't you forget about The Breakfast Club and this once-in-a-lifetime reunion!