Molly Ringwald spoke up recently about how she doesn’t think a Breakfast Club reboot should happen. And her reasons why are pretty inspiring.
In an era of reboots and remakes, it’s not unusual to find your favorite films from the past reappearing in movie theaters on a regular basis with a new cast and new feel. But according to Molly Ringwald’s recent appearance on PeopleTV’s series Couch Surfing, there’s one ’80s classic that should be left alone: The Breakfast Club.
The Breakfast Club, John Hughes’ enduring 1985 high school flick, tells the story of five mismatched teenagers brought together to endure a Saturday detention. Molly Ringwald starred as the popular “princess” Claire, alongside Judd Nelson (the rebel, Bender), Emilio Estevez (the jock, Andrew), Ally Sheedy (the weirdo, Allison), and Anthony Michael Hall (the nerd, Brian).
It’s a movie that addressed the experience of an American teenager, the struggles of cliques, parental expectations, and peer pressure. More than 30 years since its release, it remains a highly quoted and respected film — a quintessential ’80s film and iconic teen story.
So why, according to Ringwald, should it be left in the past?
Ringwald’s comments regarding The Breakfast Club come on the heels of her 2018 story in the New Yorker, where she examined the film through the lens of the rising #MeToo movement. Through this perspective, she said, the movie was “troubling.” For example, there’s that scene where Bender is hiding under the desk.
“While there, he takes the opportunity to peek under Claire’s skirt and… it is implied that he touches her inappropriately.” Ringwald calls this moment, as well as other questionable sexual scenes in her movies, “uncomfortable bits.”
“What’s more,” Ringwald said, “As I can see now, Bender sexually harasses Claire throughout the film. When he’s not sexualizing her, he takes out his rage on her with vicious contempt, calling her ‘pathetic,’ mocking her as ‘Queenie.’ It’s rejection that inspires his vitriol… He never apologizes for any of it. But, nevertheless, he gets the girl in the end.”
Fast forward to Ringwald’s recent interview with Couch Surfing, she is quick to explain that her new perspective on The Breakfast Club should not be misinterpreted as a dislike for Hughes’ classic. “I really loved those movies, and by no means do I want to turn my back on them,” she said.
But when asked who she would cast to reprise her role as Claire in a Breakfast Club reboot, she was firm that such a remake shouldn’t be done. “[The Breakfast Club] is of a certain time, and there are certain things that are not appropriate now that were barely appropriate then.”
Instead, Ringwald advocates for filmmakers today to create more relevant, modern stories. “I would like it for people to take the good from , and inspired by that to make something that is relevant to what’s going on today because the world is a different place.”