We live in an age of reboots and an unparalleled re-fascination with the 1980s.
2016-2018 saw a reboot of Stephen King's It, which invoked a John Hughes film gone wrong vibe as it followed the gang called "The Losers" battle the evil Pennywise the Dancing Clown; as well as the inception of Stranger Things, a Netflix series that takes place in Indiana, also in the 1980s. And now that we've had our fill of 80s horror...where is our John Hughes?
Well, it may not be such a good idea after all.
Molly Ringwald, the star of most of the John Hughes canon, has spoken out against rebooting any of the films in the franchise-specifically The Breakfast Club.
"You can't reboot the John Hughes movies," Ringwald said. "He doesn't want it to be done and I don't think it should be done."
Molly Ringwald is against a Breakfast Club reboot https://t.co/P5GpIWTxR6— Entertainment Weekly (@Entertainment Weekly) 1548532543
@EW Same. Classics should remain untouched. Only John Hughes could deliver. https://t.co/FNbcjjvnEb— Kristina anderson (@Kristina anderson) 1548532760
@EW Why would they want to ruin a classic? Make NEW movies leave the classics alone.— Kurama🦊🔥 (@Kurama🦊🔥) 1548533209
@EW anyone with taste should be against it— syd saw the batman (@syd saw the batman) 1548532716
Ringwald was deeply unsettled when rewatching the film with her daughter.
During a scene in which Judd Nelson's character John Bender joins Claire under the table, "he takes the opportunity to peek under Claire's skirt and, though the audience doesn't see, it is implied that he touches her inappropriately."
Ringwald found herself unable to shake an icky feeling from that moment:
"I kept thinking about that scene. I thought about it again this past fall, after a number of women came forward with sexual-assault accusations against the producer Harvey Weinstein, and the #MeToo movement gathered steam. If attitudes toward female subjugation are systemic, and I believe that they are, it stands to reason that the art we consume and sanction plays some part in reinforcing those same attitudes. I made three movies with John Hughes; when they were released, they made enough of a cultural impact to land me on the cover of Time magazine and to get Hughes hailed as a genius. His critical reputation has only grown since he died, in 2009, at the age of fifty-nine."
@EW I agree. The movie was so of the moment, it can’t be remade.— Keith Chandler (@Keith Chandler) 1548542869
@EW Don't touch anything created by John Hughes.— Joseph Jackson (@Joseph Jackson) 1548537831
@EW Agree , you can not reproduce that kind of dynamic event in History , Hollywood or Whomever they get will Butch… https://t.co/cFvBLmfVsR— Constantine (@Constantine) 1548609069
@EW We all are...— TVTodd 📺🌎🇺🇸 (@TVTodd 📺🌎🇺🇸) 1548532732
"Hughes's films play constantly on television and are even taught in schools. There is still so much that I love in them, but lately I have felt the need to examine the role that these movies have played in our cultural life: where they came from, and what they might mean now," Ringwald continued.
"When my daughter proposed watching "The Breakfast Club" together, I had hesitated, not knowing how she would react: if she would understand the film or if she would even like it. I worried that she would find aspects of it troubling, but I hadn't anticipated that it would ultimately be most troubling to me."
@EW i agree, this was an 80s thing you know like disco.— kenneth minear (@kenneth minear) 1548605967
But Ringwald doesn't hate The Breakfast Club.
"I really loved those movies and by no means do I want to turn my back on them, but I would like it for people to take the good from that and are inspired by that to make something that is relevant to what's going on today because the world is a different place."
@EW Yes!!! Leave it alone— Sandra J 🦋 (@Sandra J 🦋) 1548547389
@EW Agreed. TBC is a classic.— KristyTheGossipGirl (@KristyTheGossipGirl) 1548547321
@EW Rightly so. Some things you H A V E to leave alone. Ya just have to 🤷🏼♀️— Jolene Painter (@Jolene Painter) 1548543026
@EW Leave it alone, writers need to quit making a buck riding on the coat tails of great classics and begin to form an independent idea— LAH (@LAH) 1548535499
If you were hopeful that a potential The Breakfast Club reboot might have a ripple effect and bring the rest of the John Hughes canon back to life, sorry!
It looks like you'll just have to dig out those old 80s chestnuts and enjoy them the way they're meant to be enjoyed.
Molly Ringwald Just Named A Very Worthy Successor To Hold Today's 'Teen Queen' Title 🙌
In the 1980's, Molly Ringwald reigned supreme as the "Teen Queen" of the era after starring in some of the most beloved young adult films of all time. With director John Hughes, she carved the role for herself with leading roles in Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club, but now she's ready to pass the crown on to a teen star of the present day.
Molly Ringwald, teen queen of John Hughes movies, turned 50 on Sunday. I'm not sure how that's even possible. https://t.co/FVYQY4ktu4— Jimmie Tramel (@Jimmie Tramel) 1519179343
In a recent interview with CNN, Ringwald said she had recently watched a movie which she felt captured the late Hughes's spirit perfectly:
"[The John Hughes movies] were really unique and really fun and he basically got that whole teen 'thing' in a way that nobody has gotten since, except for a movie that I really love that I think is the inheritance of John Hughes. To my mind, I think 'Eighth Grade' completely gets it. Elsie Fisher's performance is incredible. I think what it really shares with the John Hughes films is the fact that it's really funny and yet it's really moving."
Elsie Fisher and Molly Ringwald on the A24 podcast was a stroke of genius they’re both soooo sweet and nice and wholesome— Tiffany (@Tiffany) 1544644979
Fisher has received numerous accolades for her realistic performance in Bo Burnham's directorial debut, including a Critic's Choice Award. According to Ringwald, the hype is well-deserved:
"I watched part of it with my husband and he was like, 'I don't know if I can watch this.' It was so emotional because it's a father and his daughter and we had just gone through that. My daughter is now in ninth grade, so we've kind of gone through that year. I really do think it's so perfect to make a movie about eighth grade because it's really the pinnacle. It's like the worst year possible. I really think that if you can get through eighth grade you can get through almost anything."
Twitter couldn't agree more:
@Variety Great performance— well deserved.— Moss - IL PBS NPR (@Moss - IL PBS NPR) 1547449017
Elsie Fisher = Young Style Icon ✨💜🙌🏻🌟 https://t.co/AdjLb91YOd— Tomris Laffly (@Tomris Laffly) 1547426464
elsie fisher is so cute! #CriticsChoiceAwards https://t.co/L06Q8JNjIn— panchhi 🦋 (@panchhi 🦋) 1547426781
@Variety YES!!! You go girl!!!— ✨Margot✨ (@✨Margot✨) 1547437399
With teen roles far behind her, Ringwald is now starring in All These Small Moments, written and directed by Melissa Miller Costanzo.
ALL THESE SMALL MOMENTS Trailer (2019) Drama Movieyoutu.be
Ringwald was drawn to the film by its complex protagonist:
"What really moved me about this particular woman is she was just so real. She's so flawed. She's so sharp. She's in crisis. I look at her and if she can get out of bed that day and put on mascara and put her hair back, then it's a victory."
The internet hardly needed convincing to see more Ringwald!
the fact that Molly ringwald, the queen of teen movies of the eighties, is now playing moms in modern teen movies i… https://t.co/MqNDNtYGty— jess (@jess) 1527219245
also SOBRANG TITA NA NI MOLLY RINGWALD???? 90s teen queen turned suburban mom realness— CLAR (@CLAR) 1527436830
@riverandmal Kevin is slowly but surely working his way through 80s Molly Ringwald do’s and I am here for it! https://t.co/CXkIoRRhCq— Wife of the North⚔️ (@Wife of the North⚔️) 1548013495
Ringwald recently wrote in The New Yorker about her time as an 80's star and how certain onscreen moments no longer hold up in the #MeToo era. However, speaking with CNN, she wanted to make it clear she wasn't trying to tarnish John Hughes' legacy:
"I feel like I had a real connection to all of those characters in those John Hughes movies. [I've had some] really amazing feedback from people I really respect. I think for the most part people understood it was a nuanced conversation. It was also something that was difficult for me to write. I didn't want it to be misinterpreted and look like in any way I was turning my back on John Hughes or those movies because I still think they have tremendous value."
80s teen movie star, Molly Ringwald talks to Elsie Fisher from Eighth Grade about accurately portraying the teen ex… https://t.co/JxwQtNJXce— Allyn (@Allyn) 1547427813
@CBSNews It isn’t fair 2 apply current mores retroactively 2 art/film/books produced in a time when such mores were… https://t.co/0Kbkt7Owup— Mrs. Bob Vance😷🏳️🌈🍑📎✊🏼🗽💜🐺🇮🇹 (@Mrs. Bob Vance😷🏳️🌈🍑📎✊🏼🗽💜🐺🇮🇹) 1538540257
All These Small Moments is in theaters now, as well as on demand wherever you can stream movies!
Molly Ringwald And Ally Sheedy Welcome Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez To 'The Breakfast Club' After Viral Video
So, if you haven't heard, Republicans found a new reason to disparage Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young Democratic Socialist congresswoman representing New York's 14th congressional district.
Videos surfaced of Ocasio-Cortez dancing on a rooftop in Boston, the city of her alma mater, Boston University.
However, they neglected to mention one major part of the dance featured in the video.
Does it look familiar to you?
Here is the full video in question:
Phoenix - Lisztomania - Boston University Brat Pack Mashupwww.youtube.com
Does the dancing look familiar?
That's because it's a reimagining of the iconic scene from The Breakfast Clubwhere the kids dance all over the library.
Here's the original version from the 1985 John Hughes film that made stars of Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez and Hughes' muse, Molly Ringwald.
The Breakfast Club Dance Scenewww.youtube.com
The Breakfast Club celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2015 with a special edition of the film, available here.
So not only was the video completely non-offensive, but according to Uproxx, it was actually created FOR Boston University.
"As it turns out, the video was actually created for Boston University's Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, which provides 'programs, events and experiences to students designed to encourage creative exchange of ideas, thoughts, beliefs and opinions.'"
Whoops.
Strike three, Republicans.
Ocasio-Cortez struck back by posting a video of her on Capitol Hill....dancing.
It wasn't long before some stars of The Breakfast Club caught on to Ocasio-Cortez's video.
Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy both tweeted their support for the Congresswoman's sweet moves.
The tweets from the founding members of The Breakfast Club are inspiring the internet a little today.
After all, is admission into The Breakfast Club ever really closed?
Wow...The Breakfast Club is turning 34 this year.
Does anybody else feel old?
It seems like this attempt on AOC's credibility only made her more popular among both Gen X and Millennials. Sorry, for those of you trying to bring her down.