Breakfast With "The Breakfast Club"

Friday night, the Friedmann room of Keefe Campus Center took a trip to the eighties. The room’s furniture, although still modern, consisted of comfy arm chairs, high-backed stools, patterned blue-and-white pillows dotting the dance floor and small round tables with chairs surrounding the main wooden floor, was decorated to aid in the viewing of one of the most iconic movies of all time — “The Breakfast Club.”

The movie viewing, dually-sponsored by Amherst Women’s Network and AC After Dark, served various breakfast foods catered by The Lone Wolf before the movie began (hence the first “breakfast” in the “Breakfast with the Breakfast Club” event title). A wide array of warm and delicious foods were self-serve on tables near the Friedmann room entrance, allowing students to help themselves to crisply-cooked bacon and sausage patties, scrambled eggs with a mixture of bell peppers, cooked and diced potatoes, French toast with syrup, quiche with black beans and a sparkling fruit juice. Although the event was scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., the room was filled and buzzing by 8:58 p.m. and most of the food supply had dwindled.
Twenty minutes after the hour, coordinator of the event, Meghan McCafferty ’14, stepped to the front of the room and introduced the feature presentation. McCafferty enthusiastically expressed her hopes that everyone was enjoying the food and was sure to mention that the Amherst Women’s Network and AC After Dark had sponsored the event. And how did she come up with the idea to present breakfast with a showing of The Breakfast Club at night?

“At one of our [Amherst Women’s Network] meetings, we wanted to come up with an alternative Friday night activity and enjoy some food,” McCafferty said.

This goal was well accomplished. The line for food stretched out the door and partially down the stairs, and many groupings of friends sat and chatted whilst munching on the variety of breakfast foods. Two such friends, Clara “Rizel” Dewitt ’16 and Emily Bai ’16, arrived early enough to grab the cushy pillows on the floor near the projector. They came for both the food and the movie.

“Although I’ve seen The Breakfast Club, we usually go the Keefe events, not the socials[…]I also came to convince my friend to see it,” Dewitt said with a look at Bai.

Sheepish, Bai clarified, “No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ve heard about it and probably seen a few parts so I am very excited.”

There seemed to be an equal mixture of participants who had seen the movie and who had not. Yasmina Martin ’14, who had seen The Breakfast Club “plenty of times”, came for both the food and because she enjoys many “Brat Pack” (the nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared in movies in the 1980s films).

“I just really like [John Hughes’s] films, like ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and ‘Sixteen Candles,’” Martin said. “They make me a bit nostalgic.”

The room was still loud with laughter and an indistinct hum of dialogue when the lights dimmed and the DVD screen appeared on the projector. Even when the opening credit of the film (a David Bowie quote: “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”) came on-screen, the chatting was still eager. However, when Sherman High School came into view, all talking ceased.
I won’t spoil the entire movie for those who have not seen it, but the next 97 minutes were enjoyable for everyone present. Cast favorites among the audience were Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), also known as the “brain” of the group, as well as “basket case” Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) and “criminal” John Bender (Judd Nelson). Although many laughs were had in response to antiquated lingo (“Eat my shorts,” “wastoid,” “sporto,” etc.), quiet moments during the film came during the character’s realizations that their outward appearances didn’t necessarily reflect their personalities, that there is every bit of “a brain, and an athlete [Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez)], and a basket case, a princess [Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald)] and a criminal” in all of us.

When the ending credits rolled and the lights went up, chairs and tables were moved back to their respective locations, but the atmosphere was still that of an ’80s high school. Students laughed and quoted their favorite parts and characters. Like much of the audience, Bai’s favorite character was Brian, and she enthusiastically stated that she would “definitely watch the movie again.” Whether or not you have Lone Wolf catering for you, this ’80s classic is definitely worth seeing again and again!