THE BREAKFAST CLUB Screens Wednesday Night at Schlafly Bottleworks – ‘Strange Brew’

“Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe? ”

THE BREAKFAST CLUB screens Wednesday night July 1^st at Schlafly Bottleworks at 8pm

You never know what’s brewing at Webster University’s Strange Brew cult film series. It’s always the first Wednesday evening of every month, and they always come up with some cult classic to show while enjoying some good food and great suds. The fun happens at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar in Maplewood (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, MO 63143).

In 1985, director/writer John Hughes crafted THE BREAKFAST CLUB, his hilarious and surprisingly thoughtful tale that still seems as fresh as it did 30 years ago. Five teenagers, each representing a different clique in their high school, are forced to spend an entire Saturday in detention together for various infractions each has committed–some of which become central to the plot, as the characters gradually become aware that they share more in common with each other than their stereotypes and preconceived notions would ever allow.

There’s a minimalistic feel to the movie that helps maintain its focus on the characters; there are essentially only two other speaking parts of any significance outside of the five teens–the antagonistic school principal, Mr. Vernon, as well as a small part played by the school’s janitor (who, if you look quickly, can be seen in the movie’s opening sequence in an old photograph, presumably taken years ago when he was a student, hung on the school’s wall declaring him “Man of the Year”). Adults over 30 might cringe at the unsympathetic and incomplete portrayal of Mr. Vernon, but it’s a movie about the teen experience and rarely has it been captured so accurately on film.

The acting is uniformly excellent. Judd Nelson gives a brilliant performance as “the criminal”, John Bender. He’s clearly the star of the movie, baiting the others to react to his crude behavior and acidic wit. This role put Nelson on the Hollywood map, but his subsequent roles never approached the heights he achieves here. Molly Ringwald, the darling of John Hughes’ 80’s work, is solid as “the princess”, Emilio Estevez shows more depth than the rest of his movies combined as “the jock”, Anthony Michael Hall is eminently believable as “the brain” (and the only one that really looks like a teenager), and Ally Sheedy is okay as “the basketcase”, although she has the most under-written role in the movie–which, as it turns out, is in keeping with the character. After meeting these characters for one fateful Saturday it will leave you wondering…what are they doing now? It’s perhaps better not to know, it’s enough just to enjoy it for what it is.

Now you can again experience THE BREAKFAST CLUB when it screens Wednesday night July 1^st at Schlafly Bottleworks Restaurant and Bar in Maplewood (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, MO 63143). The movie starts at 8pm and admission is $5. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed beer.

The Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE

https://www.facebook.com/events/673035676173634/