This collection of three classic John Hughes films from the 1980s (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science) packaged together with a music CD of the songs most notable in the Brat Pack films (which include a few more films than these three) marks the third release of these films on DVD.  The last release was The High School Reunion Collection which included the exact same films (in the same transfer, same audio presentation, and same bonus features – which are none) with the only difference being the eight song music CD and the unique packaging (a three-ring binder).  

The Breakfast Club

The social echelon of high school life is represented by five students sent to a Saturday morning detention, “The Basket Case” Allison (Ally Sheedy), “The Jock” Andy (Emilio Estevez), “The Brain” Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), “The Princess” Claire (Molly Ringwald) and “The Criminal” Bender (Judd Nelson) who begin the day as strangers that would never be caught dead interacting with each other, but end the day as The Breakfast Club.  

Initially they are at each other throats, berating each other with insults and nasty looks.  Then throughout the day they start opening up to each other, learning about each other’s lives and upbringings.  The five kids bond over their hardships, their lots in life as their respective stigmas, and their hate for the hard-nosed principal (Paul Gleason), who has a particular nasty streak mostly pointed at Bender.  Each kid manages to appreciate the other and garner a much better understanding of the other groups of kids in school besides the one they belong to. 

Sixteen Candles

This film, the first John Hughes high school film, follows Sam (Molly Ringwald), on the day of her sixteenth birthday (which her whole family has forgotten due to her sister’s impending wedding the next day) and her quest for love with the high school jock Jake (Michael Schoeffling) with a heart of gold.  Sam not only has to deal with the fact that Jake doesn’t know she exists, she also has to deal with all her relatives staying at the house for the wedding (including her grandparents and a Chinese foreign exchange student with a penchant for hard partying), a geek called Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) obsessed with her, and her little brother constantly putting her down.  She’s at wits end until Farmer Ted tells her that Jake was asking about her and she only needs to muster up the courage to talk to him.  Turns out, that’s a lot harder than it should be.   

Weird Science

The Frankenstein legend with a twist, it is set in high school and instead of a mad scientist it’s two virginal geeks who mistakenly create the ultimate dream girl who may help them out of the social doldrums.  Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) and Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) are two high school geeks who one stormy night use Wyatt’s computer and a Barbie doll to create the perfect girl.  To their disbelief, it works and Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) is born.  Not only does Lisa have a perfect body, incredible wit and intelligence but she also has witch-like powers which she uses to help Wyatt and Gary escape their geeky lives and become the coolest guys around.  But it’s not long before she takes things too far and things get out of control. 

CRITIQUE

One issue I had with this collection is that they call it the Brat Pack collection.  First off, St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink not being in a Brat Pack collection doesn’t make much sense as those two films would include the full Brat Pack.  Going off this set you’d assume the Brat Pack was just Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall.  But both of those films are owned by different studios than Universal so they had to make due with what they had.  Weird Science, while one of my favorite 80s films, is not really a Brat Pack film as the only Brat Pack members are Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. that are in the film.  Calling this the High School Reunion Collection, as they did with the prior release, makes much more sense.

And let me say straight off, if you own the High School Reunion Collection, do not waste your money on this as it is exactly the same with just different packaging and an eight song CD you could easily put together yourself.

A big disappointment with this collection is that the movies have no bonus features.  It would have been terrific to have seen an interview with all the Brat Pack together again to discuss those times and these films.  Or at least some commentary tracks with just some of the stars and Hughes.  Anything really.

But with all that said, I just absolutely love these films and if you do not own any of the films on DVD this is a great set to buy (especially if you grew up during the 80s).  These films take me back to my youth, as I grew up during the 80s and these movies were a big part of that time period.  So its’ hard to review these films without the nostalgia I feel for them creeping in.

The Breakfast Club

This is the best film of the set, the most fully realized and tightly directed.  It’s a very small, character driven film that comes alive in the conversations of the five main characters as they slowly reveal themselves and come together as a group.  The film hinges upon the performances and the realistic dialogue, and all the actors deliver.  In fact, these are probably the best performances of these actors’ lives.  The true spark plug of the group is Judd Nelson as bad boy Bender.  He owns the screen and his back and forth with the terrifically evil principal, played by Paul Gleason, is a highlight.  The rest of the cast is also spectacular; they all seemed born to play these characters.  Molly Ringwald uses her unique mix of teenage charm, cuteness and “every girl” qualities to full hilt here.  And Anthony Michael Hall gets to show a bit more range and it works.  Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez are also terrific in their respective roles.  John Hughes directs the film using only a few small set pieces and yet manages to keep the whole thing constantly energized and entertaining.  His screenplay, while a bit melodramatic and a bit stereotypical is filled with spot-on perfect dialogue and it is very well structured. This is the one film of the three that can be appreciated as just a great film, not a great 80s film.  It rises above the generational issues and is a bonafide classic.

Sixteen Candles

This is a fresh, sweet-natured comedy that has some really goofy, raunchy moments and characters but manages to come across in a very light and charming way.   Hughes really has a feel for the way teenagers interact with each other and nothing ever comes across as forced or unfitting to the character.  Moments that start out as goofy and played for only comedy end on notes of good-natured, realistic humanity (like the scene in the car at the dance between Farmer Ted and Sam).  This screenplay is not as tight and structured as his later films, but it is filled with some gloriously funny bits.  Some of the characters, like Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) and Sam’s grandparents, come across as broad caricatures rather than fleshed out people, but Hughes uses them for some moments of high comedy.  The cast is again first rate, with Anthony Michael Hall in his funniest role as the lord of the geeks Farmer Ted.  His supporting role is the catalyst of the film and he ends up having almost as much screen time as Molly Ringwald.  Ringwald is again quite good as Sam, bringing just the right mix of self doubt and desirable cuteness to the character.  The supporting roles are all over the place, with some interesting and funny characters (Long Duk Dong, Sam’s father) and some truly bland and boring ones (Jake, Sam’s best friend, the other geeks).  It’s a funny and timeless comedy with some very genuinely funny moments.      

Weird Science

This is my favorite Hughes film, I loved this film when I was young and I still do.  It’s just a brilliant fantasy concept for a film and it is executed to perfection by Hughes and the great cast.  Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith are perfectly matched buddies with Hall’s Gary lording over Wyatt.  And Bill Paxton as Wyatt’s older brother Chet is just hilarious.  Kelly LeBrock is amazing looking throughout and that’s about all the character really calls for.  Robert Downey Jr. is also in the film in a very small supporting role as a jerky guy from their high school who constantly hounds Wyatt and Gary.  The film is full of hilarious moments and Hughes directs with a masterful hand.     

THE VIDEO

The transfers are all in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1.  Sixteen Candles is the worst of the three, the transfer is much better than the original DVD transfer but there are some serious grain problems (especially during the night scenes) and edge issues.  Weird Science isn’t much better, with the same issues, but as a whole it’s not bad considering the age of the film.  The Breakfast Club, maybe because of the set locations (only inside in the light), looks terrific, and the transfer is remarkably clear and vivid.

THE AUDIO

The audio presentations are all in 5.1 DTS and, for the most part, the presentations are terrific.  Sixteen Candles is (again) the worst of the three, the presentation is good but somewhat too generic (there is very little surround activity).  Weird Science is probably the best of the three with an outstanding audio track with dynamic surround sound and crystal clear dialogue.  The Breakfast Club is also quite good with an active surround, nice balances and clear dialogue. 

THE EXTRAS

The only bonus material is the eight song CD included with has songs from various Hughes’ films from the 80s.  It’s actually a great CD for fans of 80s music.  Here is the track listing:

“True” – Spandau Ballet from Sixteen Candles

“Tenderness” – General Public from Weird Science

“If You Leave” – OMD from Pretty in Pink

“Weird Science” – Oingo Boingo from Weird Science

“Oh Yeah” – Yello from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Pretty in Pink” – The Psychedelic Furs from Pretty in Pink

“Don’t You Forget About Me” – Simple Minds from The Breakfast Club

“I Go Crazy” – Flesh for Lulu from Some Kind of Wonderful

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Brat Pack Movies & Music Collection is misleading in that the CD included does cover many Brat Pack films but the movies included do not truly make up the Brat Pack films (the set would have to include Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire).  But the three films included (Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, and The Breakfast Club) are terrific films from the 80s, for those of us that grew up in that decade it doesn’t get much better.  These same three discs were released in a prior set, so if you own that set already do not purchase this one.  The lack of any bonus material, besides the CD, is a let down but the films are terrific.