The Class

source: The Class

Bear with me. We have Lyric Ross who has demonstrated wide emotional depth and tremendous talent on This Is Us playing an edgy teen. There is Debbie Gibson coming in as a teacher who most know as a pop star from the 80s but she is also a Broadway caliber actress. In a gimmick casting we have the vice-principal played by Anthony Michael Hall, a darling of John Hughes films who continued his acting career for decades, as well as John Kapelos also of The Breakfast Club playing a parent to one of the teens. We have a newer talent in Charlie Gillespie who rose to fame in Daytime EMMY winning Julie and the Phantoms (as the Bender type character). We should have a hit on our hands in this "reimagined" (cough remade cough) Breakfast Club. But unlike the 1985 classic, the writing is bad. The directing is bad. The editing is bad. I blame this on the director of this film who also wrote it and cast one of his kids as one of the stars. She is no Molly Ringwald. Fashioned as a more contemporary version tackling issues not widely discussed in The Breakfast Club, there was so much potential. Good actors and a proven premise combined with a good original song performed by Hannah Kepple of Cobra Kai fame fell short because the cast can only work with what is in the script. There were some good dramatic moments which could have been played out in more depth but instead were cut between goofy unneeded antics or trying to split the cast up into too many locations. It was disjointed and it always felt like I was coming into the middle of a conversation. Had the stories been allowed to be fully fleshed out, or perhaps the characters been left together and forced to be in each other's space like in The Breakfast Club some magic could have happened. I rated it higher than it probably deserves because the seeds are there and we all have different taste so others will probably love it. The best scene of the movie, in my opinion, is almost at the end so stick around for it.

I read the reviews on line and decided to manage my expectations. I was pleasantly surprise as I watched the story unfold. I definitely got the sense of the 80s Breakfast Club. The filmmakers touched based on many different relevant topics. I alway love watching Anthony Michael Hall. By the time it was over I wanted to see some more. I would give it an 8 out of 10. It is not often that you get something that give you thought provoking dialogue. The actors were great and would love to see more of them. Possibly a sequel could be in the works. Anyways if you have time it is worth it. I may go back and watch for a second time.

... which is the test first suggested by Roger Ebert: if in the first 20 mins of a feature film, you cannot come up with even one reason to continue to watch, it is a fail. The producers behind this debacle are not the first to attempt to improve on something that was already perfection (THE BREAKFAST CLUB 1985), nor will they be the last. In a script clearly meant to make the audience focus on the kids, the only cast member here who constantly catches the camera's eye is Debbie Gibson -- she fairly bounces from scene to scene. Casting one of the original members of TBC was a smart touch, but Anthony Michael Hall, now in his 50s, looks older than he is, and seems to be on set just for the payday. A swing and a miss. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

If you love Breakfast Club, and think that this might be a fun little re-telling.... Forget it. This thing is terrible. There are no redeeming qualities. MAH - "phones it in." DG - hmmmm not so much Rest of the Class - bad high school drama club acting. Save your money. This movie will not become a cult classic. Even as a bad movie cult classic like Plan 9... If I was to quantify this movie, it is an attempt to steal money from fans of the Breakfast Club. So, with that said, I did see that The Breakfast Club is available to rent/purchase... absolutely do that instead. You can will thank yourself later.

I enjoyed the film. The actors were great. It started out slow but soon after quickly picked up the pace. The relationships between the cast members seemed authentic. It's a great movie similar to The Breakfast Club with good a moral compass and has elements of an endearing and heartwarming story. I liked Anthony Michael Hall's performance and thought this was a great throwback to breakfast club days. Some may find this to be a fun Easter egg in the film. I think it'd be a great movie for young adults and for high school teachers to showcase at school. It's definitely worth watching and sharing with family and friends.

source: The Class

IN A NUTSHELL: This coming-of-age film is about a group of high school seniors forced to spend a Saturday at school, completing an exam they missed taking or previously failed. By the end of the day, they find their own values, betrayals, and love within themselves and their classmates. The movie was written and directed by Nicholas Celozzi. Based on their last names, it appears that the director's daughter is one of the cast members. The famous teen movie The Breakfast Club in 1985 was clearly the inspiration for this film. Sadly, it doesn't have the magic or charm of John Hughes movies. THINGS I LIKED: Debbie Gibson plays an incredibly patient, compassionate high school teacher. Young moviegoers probably won't know that, in real life, she was a hugely popular singer in the 1980s. She's 52 years old and looks fantastic. Anthony Michael Hall is a fun addition to this teen-angst movie because he was a common face in a bunch of the successful John Hughes movies of the 1980s. Hannah Kepple is beautiful and has a beautiful singing voice. What a pleasant surprise! Teenagers nowadays face increasingly difficult issues in a very complicated world. The film addresses today's issues for teens like coming out, abortion, family drama, friendship, preparing for college, popularity, health, drugs, and more. Most teens just want to be seen and understood while they're trying to figure out who they are. THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Such annoying teenagers. So much hair tossing. I thought it was hilarious when one of the characters pulled a gigantic pill bottle out of her jacket, as if anyone would want to carry that around. Surely, she could have slipped a few in a baggie. There's a lot more drama than comedy. Not all of the comedy lands. All of the characters cry and spill their beans quite easily. Teen drama. Some bad editing. It's weird how the teacher kept leaving her class, abandoning her students. Maybe she wanted to give them privacy to work on their assignments; however, it was established in the beginning of the movie that these were flunking students who needed extra guidance and support. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity, including F-bombs A guy brings a bong to class A guy drinks alcohol at school Teens flip the bird Violence Talk of death and suicide A teenage girl wears a bustier and super short-shorts to school THEMES: High school Lack of motivation Drama class Abortion Alcoholism Rejection Abandonment Judging others Racism Creating safe spaces How we affect each other Be yourself Supporting one another. You can see the full review on the Movie Review Mom YouTube channel.

Great programming for a young audience. It is clearly an homage to John Hughes... but it is made modern in its concerns, accounting for school shootings and the general anxiety and fear felt by kids in school today. A group of misfits are tasked with a detention theater class that requires them to bring their own experiences to the work of acting a character. The class allows each to confront the weighty issues keeping them from living their authentic lives. In a clever self-reflection, each actor in this movie is tasked with doing the exact same thing, and some honest acting is accomplished here. Nice chemistry among the cast. Really well done!

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels. Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world. Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment. When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U. S. A., along with a 3×5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes." This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion. There can be only one.