I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Admirable film.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

...And if you're like, "Huh?" This is what I mean:Okay so the film was made on a budget of around a million dollars, has little over ten people as its cast (with only five main and two co-star), and takes place (with its setting) around the same location throughout- a high school. It's a very basic set-up but basic doesn't necessarily equal bad. No, it's quite the opposite actually. The film centres and surrounds itself around five characters who are all brought in to detention on a Saturday by their assistant principle, Mr Vernon, each for a different wrongdoing in which was brought on by the pressure, negligence and abuse of their parents. The five students are: Andrew, Claire, John, Brian and Allison. Each of them represent five different backgrounds and stereotypes. Andrew's the well-known jock whose father gives him harsh criticism and brings him down about his wrestling; Claire is the popular "princess" and spoilt-like teen of the five, to which she gets what she wants, more or less. As well as this, her mother and father try to use her to get back at each other. John (better known as Bender, his last name) is the criminal and rebel of them, always poking fun at people and belittling them, who smokes weed, has a knife, wears denim and jean jacket and clothing as well as fingerless gloves, and likes rock music. Bender's father is abusive. Brian is the smart and intelligent nerdy-like teenager, the brain, whose parents are very strict with his grades. He feels if he fails, it's all over. His life is just as tough as the rest because of the over-abundance of pressure put on him. Allison is the outcast/introvert and somewhat unknown one of the five, also known in the film as the "basket case". Allison dresses in black and her true looks aren't properly revealed until the end of the film. Her parents ignore her and she feels neglected. All different, complex backgrounds, all from different peers, but in the end they're all more alike than they know. The movie is brilliant. It's solid effort in terms of acting and directing. The casting is perfect, too. And the co-stars make a great add to the film itself. There are lots of laughs, uplifting moments, sad scenes, rebellious moments that blend in with both funny and serious, and so much more. And for a great and clear experience, the film is superb when watched on bluray.The prevailing Bender as he walks across the football pitch on the way home and then lifts his arm up into the air as a status of perseverance and might is probably my favourite film ending of all time, if not definitely in my top three for sure.10/10

To put it in context, im 51 years old. I grew up during the 80;s so maybe Im biased. but I prefer these kind of character driven movies over the crappy Marvel movies produced nowadays. The characters are excellent, the dialog are trustworthy and the setting is perfect. This movie could easily been a caricature but astounding performance of the young actor and excellent direction avoids this trap. it portrays the stereotype characters, the jock, the nerd, the outcast, the pram queen character in a believable context. confined in the library of the school they have to confront each other with the preconceptions they have. and the finale is fantastic. think back to when you where a teenager, all the struggles you had finding your identity, all the existential questions,the intense love and hate feelings. this movie captures this in a fantastic way (without CGI effects)

Ah yes, the quintessential teenage angst movie. Though I'm way past the target audience age for this picture, I can relate to some of those feelings I had when I was a high school student myself, many, many moons ago. Today I'm sure, the pressures on young students have to be considerably greater than the ones experienced by the Brat Packers appearing in this picture over three decades ago (as I write this), certainly a lot more than when I was a student going back a half century. But the primary issues still remain - how to fit in, how to find one's place in the world, how to appeal to the opposite sex, and on and on.The thing I found particularly compelling was teacher Vernon's (Paul Gleason) assignment. He asked the students to write an essay on 'who they THOUGHT they were'. That's distinctively different from asking them 'WHO they were'. There may be some subtlety there for the average person, but if one were to be honest and offer a careful reflection, 'WHO' one is and who one "THINKS' they are ought to be pretty close, unless some serious self denial exists. Of course that could be a definite possibility, as perhaps in the case of Allison (Ally Sheedy). Her Goth exterior masked a sensitive person aching to break out, with the group dynamic offering an opportunity to show her true self.The character I felt to be most a parody of a real person was Judd Nelson's 'Bender'. His dialog and actions were so over the top and inflammatory that under real life circumstances, someone like Andy Clark (Emilio Estevez) probably would have decked him early in the picture. The eventual camaraderie that developed among the five students felt more like a function of the screenplay than what actual high school students might have come up with on their own. The biggest problem I had with the story was the actual punishment - nine hours!!! detention on a Saturday seemed almost unconscionable. And for Vernon to commit himself to nine more weeks of it at the expense of Bender's behavior only said to this viewer that he seriously needed to get a life. But overall, the picture did convey a lot of the feelings one might have had back in the grueling days of high school with all it's attendant trials and tribulations. Having just experienced my own high school graduating class's fiftieth reunion (yikes!!!), I can fairly say there were some things I would have liked to do over again if given half a chance.

I was turning eighteen on the year 1985 and seeing this flick for the first time I half appreciated it. A few years later, graduated and all, I caught this film replayed on the telly. Then it dawned on me that I really can relate to this film and started to fully appreciate it. What our high school memory collage is made of, it varies from person to person ; bullied, awkward, spoiled, brat, ungrateful, never satisfied, restless, shy, anxious, angstig, nervous, happy, sad, shallow, and all the oxymoronic description of being a teenager comes to mind. But a few years passed before I really reflected on this film, and yes I have changed and so has everyone. A lot of these youngsters, Estevez, Ringwald, Sheedy, Nelson, Michael Hall are just the same as me and my high school friends, some made it, some continue to struggle but one thing for sure, we're all trying to survive this crazy, cruel but wonderful world. As a rite of passage film, still relevant personas up to this day. For the younger generation, the music of Simple Minds is perhaps worth adding to your ' like ' list.