The Breakfast Club Scene Some Fans Wish They Had Never Filmed
1984 hosted the directorial debut of the late John Hughes via "Sixteen Candles": a coming-of-age comedy about angsty teen Samantha (Molly Ringwald) as she desperately attempts to make something of her 16th birthday. Though the film has aged like milk in some respects (via Elle Australia), it's appreciated by many in the modern-day just as it was when it came out. After all, it did solidify Hughes as a director worth keeping an eye on in 1980s Hollywood and drove moviegoers to check out what would become one of his most widely-beloved features, "The Breakfast Club."
Released just under a year after "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" once again displayed John Hughes' proficiency for coming-of-age flicks. This time around, he put the spotlight on a group of teens from vastly different social cliques who all wound up stuck in a Saturday detention session. Under the watchful eye of their principal (Paul Gleason), these youths bickered and got on each other's nerves, but they also had meaningful chats and understood the world from each other's perspectives. They left as friends, and audiences left theaters with next to nothing but praise for what they saw.
Now decades removed from its original big-screen run, many still laud "The Breakfast Club" as a cinematic classic. At the same time, it's not perfect, and one such glaring imperfection endures as a scene that some fans wish never even made it to film.
Allison's makeover gets on many fans' nerves
Among the likes of the rebellious John Bender (Judd Nelson) and geeky Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) at Saturday detention was Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). Dressed in dark clothes, quiet as a mouse, and equipped with some head-turning personality quirks, Allison goes through a surprising transformation courtesy of the prim and proper Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald). She gives Allison a makeover that puts her more in line with the beauty standards of the era, which many fans on Reddit have taken as her conforming for the sake of others instead of continuing to march to the beat of her own drum.
This perceived message of conformity wasn't something that "Breakfast Club" fans alone have a problem with. Ally Sheedy herself has since spoken up about Allison's makeover and how it has spread the wrong idea for decades. "It was uncomfortable even when we were filming it...It was the '80s, and we got to take this young woman who seems like a crazy person and make her into, you know, somebody pretty or whatever it was," she told Page Six, agreeing with many that Allison looked fine before her makeover. Still, Sheedy notes that she still loves the film and was astounded by its success.
There's a lot to love about "The Breakfast Club," hence why it's still a cornerstone of pop culture. However, none of that excuses its shortcomings, such as its somewhat problematic look at beauty standards through Allison and Claire.