'Breakfast Club' impact strong for young and old, 30 years later

JACK DUFFY was not even born when "The Breakfast Club" arrived in theaters 30 years ago. But the movie is still meaningful to the 17-year-old.

"If I have a bad day," the Ohio teen said, "I either think about the movie quotes or sometimes watch it and it makes me feel good."

Although he identifies most with Anthony Michael Hall's "brain" character in the film, he has been known to raise his fist, Judd Nelson-like, when "school is overwhelming."

Jack won't be alone as the high-school drama, written and directed by John Hughes, marks its 30th anniversary with a return to select theaters this month. (There is also a new, anniversary-tied release on DVD and Blu-ray.)

Possibly the best of Hughes' films, it involves a group of high-school students who have been assigned a daylong detention. Each represents a different type - the academic overachiever (Hall), jock (Emilio Estevez), princess (Molly Ringwald), criminal (Nelson) and seemingly demented "basket case" (Ally Sheedy). But as the movie goes along, and they begin to interact, the stereotypes are torn down, sensitivities and vulnerability revealed.

There's a scene about bullying - not only that it happens, but also why someone would bully - that resonates today. There's even still some power in the closing shot of Nelson, fist raised, as "Don't You Forget About Me" plays, which still speaks to young people, as was demonstrated by its inclusion in the similarly themed, 2012 film "Pitch Perfect."