1 week Ago By USA TODAY
No need for a Saturday detention to get "The Breakfast Club" alumni back together. The stars of John Hughes' '80s coming-of-age classic — Molly Ringwald , Judd Nelson , Emilio Estevez , Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy — reunited on Saturday at the C2E2 convention in Chicago for the first full cast reunion in 40 years. "I feel really very emotional," Ringwald, 57, told the crowd, jokingly adding that it was Estevez's first appearance at a reunion.
"We don't have to use the cardboard cutout anymore because he's here. I feel really moved that we're all together." While addressing his absence from past reunions, Estevez, 62, said the anniversary get-together "was something that finally I felt I needed to do just for myself.
" He also noted the fittingness of reuniting in the Windy City, where "The Breakfast Club" was filmed. "It's obviously the 40th anniversary, and it just felt like it was time," Estevez explained. "Somebody told me that Molly said, 'Well, does Emilio just not like us?' And that broke my heart.
And (I went), 'No, of course, I love all of them.' And that just made sense, so here I am." Released in February 1985, "The Breakfast Club" centers on a group of adolescents from different school cliques who bond during a weekend detention session.
The film grossed $45.9 million at the global box office and became part of the iconic Hughes canon of teen dramas, which includes "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink" and "Weird Science." The movie has since been recognized for its enduring appeal.
In 2005, the film was honored at the MTV Movie Awards with the Silver Bucket of Excellence award, and in 2016, was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry . It's also landed on The New York Times' "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made" and Entertainment Weekly's "50 best high school movies" rankings. Why fans shouldn't count on a 'Breakfast Club' remake The cast of "The Breakfast Club" also paid tribute to the film's director-writer Hughes, who died in August 2009.
Nelson, who played rebel John Bender, said Hughes' death was "profound for me," in part because of the film's open-ended conclusion. Following their time spent in detention, the Shermer High School students are seen departing campus, leaving viewers to ponder the possibility of their continued friendships. "I always felt in a weird way that the work was half done, that at some point we would all get back together because there were too many questions by everyone, 'What happens on Monday?' The film is about the fact that everyone has to make that decision for themselves," Nelson reflected.
He added: "Hughes explained to us the differences between the young and old. So, now is the time for him to show us where we meet in the end because we're all older now, but we're not going to get that, which is sad. But in a way, Hughes has been telling us, 'Think for yourself.
'" While a "Breakfast Club" sequel is not in the cards, Nelson's co-star Ringwald, who played queen bee and Bender's foe-turned-love-interest Claire Standish, weighed in on the possibility of remaking the classic film. "I personally don't believe in remaking that movie because I think this movie is very much of its time," Ringwald said. "It resonates with people today, but I believe in making movies that are inspired by other movies but build on it and represent what's going on today.
" The "Feud" star highlighted the film's lack of diversity in its main cast as a jumping-off point for future homages. "It's very white, this movie. You don't see a lot of different ethnicities," Ringwald said.
"We don't talk about gender, none of that, and I feel like that really doesn't represent our world today. So, I would like to see movies that are inspired by 'The Breakfast Club' but take it in a different direction." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Breakfast Club' stars reunite for the first time in 40 years.
