Was that scene in the Breakfast Club where Allison gets a makeover treated as ridiculous even then?
Posted by Intrepid_Arrival5151@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 190 comments
Or were people legitimately unphased?
Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit
The whole movie was amazing. But, you have to look at it through the 80’s lens and symbolism. Sure, it looks almost sexist now because of the pretty aspect. But, that’s not the point. The point was these kids were all dealing with the BS of society and the pressure put on them. They moved past that to see each other and, more important, be their own person. Everyone was dealing with their own shit- most of it no one else knew because they weren’t living that life. In the end, they rejected the cliques and stopped living behind their masks. And, started treating people in the “others” clique as real people. It was pretty astounding for the time. It’s totally shaped me as a parent too.
VinceP312@reddit
As if no generation before or after had such dynamics.
Sandover5252@reddit
But no generation before or after had that movie with Tears for Fears like we did, so.
Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit
What’s your point?
dem4life71@reddit
But…OP asked about this specific movie and that scenes reception at rh time. No one claimed that was the only generation that had those dynamics.
small-gestures@reddit
It was as much Claire’s makeover as it was Ali’s.
Sandover5252@reddit
Beginning with her attitude of noblesse oblige, perhaps, at the outset - which shifted quickly into…something like fun? For CLAIRE? The way her vulnerabilities were exposed that Saturday morning could seem harsh, but even Bender had her back. ❤️
madamesoybean@reddit
You absolutely nailed it. Many of us had neglectful Boomer parents and found Sibling-ness in each other despite appearances or cliques as we went through high school.
rbrumble@reddit
Wasn't one of the last lines that everybody had a bit of them all within? To get the audience to accept that as true, they needed to show us that the differences between the girls might be something as simple as what they wore.
Sandover5252@reddit
Shades of The Wizard of Oz
rbrumble@reddit
Insightful
Sandover5252@reddit
Thanks - I felt sort of shy after putting it out there, but as a generation, apart from still having recurring nightmares about the Flying Monkeys, TWOO did teach us to look beneath the exterior when forced into a survival situation with a group outside of our normal cohort - and that we might end up really loving them. ❤️
eat_a_burrito@reddit
Probably one the the most well written lines ever in a movie.
FlightExtension8825@reddit
I loved the way she looked before, the after was no thanks. Also, check out War Games. She's gorgeous in that one.
Extension-Pepper-271@reddit
I've always thought makeover scenes in any movie are ridiculous. How can people not see the underlying bone structure that shows that the person is good looking? But that's just me.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
I hated that scene so much because I could relate to her pretty well. Not so much the depression (though that was a thing) but the unkept and neglected person was fixed by some makeup and ruffles.
Loved the movie but the end I found utterly insulting.
...and I also found it weird that anyone would go to detention on a Saturday for 8 hours. As the kid who constantly got picked on by my grade 4/5 teacher because I was neglected, I've done my fair share of detentions and dictionary pages.
Even my braindead parents would never have stood for 8 hours on a Saturday for detention. Well, probably.
But the whole glowup thing, I reallllly hated that. I adored Allison as a character - until that part.
Valenciatheunicorn@reddit
Dictionary pages? I didn’t know it was a real thing. I mean. I had an evil 5th grade teacher who assigned them. But I was not aware it wasn’t her invention. Did you always pick A cuz the page started halfway down?
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
No, she picked it. She was cruel.
MistressPaine666@reddit
Utterly insulting is exactly how I’ve always felt about it. I’m an aging goth & would never have felt attractive in that crap she was put in. Take care of the unkempt part, sure, but don’t completely devalue her personal sense of style.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
Exactly.
I wasn't a goth (I was a bit older when that came about) but I did march to my own drummer, if you will. I hated 'girly' things, and bows and teddy bears on clothes were in fashion, as were pastels. I utterly loathed them and refused to wear anything of the sort.
I remember my mom making me try stuff on and go, "That's so CUTE!" and I'd take it off immediately and refuse to buy it for school. I don't do 'cute'. I do serviceable and practical and comfortable.
In grade 11, big hair held together with many cans of Aquanet was all the rage so I shaved my head. My mom was horrified and I was so proud. LOL!
I did grow it out a bit for grade 12 grad, but barely. I'm the only girl with short hair in our grade 12 grad photo and with all the pastels and ruffles and flounces, I'm wearing a black & white plain dress - I lost the battle of wearing pants and compromised to having a plain dress instead. I hated it.
I felt so ugly and like my personal style was erased.
These days, I'm still in my comfy clothes (lordy, grunge was a GIFT). Jeans, t-shirt, flannel, though I do own a few dresses for work these days (can't get away with jeans and flannel in an office).
RealtorRVACity@reddit
The whole "nerdy librarian" to "hot chick" was a huge theme in movies of that era i.e. "One Of The Boys" it was just what it was *shrug*
viking12344@reddit
Who saw it as ridiculous? Why? It was an attempt to bond.
Fugue_State76@reddit
Yes, agreed, but the way the guys suddenly found her attractive was so predictably cringe. Really bros? Are you that one dimensional?
Corner_Office_@reddit
Because they could see her face
VinceP312@reddit
I was elementary school age through 88 and then HS.
In South Side Chicago, no less.
I enjoyed the John Hughes movies. But I could not relate to the characters, at all. Be it, Vacation, Ferris Bueller through Home Alone.
I was just not a rich suburbanite. No one I knew acted that way.
I thought most of his movies and characters were on bs "elitist" mentalities/concerns that were funny somewhat but not any part of my world.
CirrusNebula@reddit
Yes. Every one of Hughes’ films, maybe with the exception of Some Kind of Wonderful. First and strongest reaction: If anyone actually lives in those worlds, I don’t know them and don’t want to.
As for SKOW. Keith debating whether or not to step off the train tracks, Watts bullied for her hand-me-down boys’ underwear. Hughes got as close as he’d ever get in those moments, probably thanks to Howard Deutsch. But even then the script went formula. Too bad.
I’d love a film showing what Keith, Watts, Amanda and Duncan are doing these days. For better and worse.
uninspired@reddit
Similar here. I love Hughes movies but I couldn't relate to a lot of it. I was able to get nerd/metal head/jock basics. But Breakfast Club in particular ....the library where the whole story takes place looks like a fine art museum compared to my school library.
pickleball_bender@reddit
Not everything needs to be analyzed all the time.
Thank you for your cooperation,
GenX
turtleblue@reddit
Literally - OP is asking if 13yo me overthought it when I was just 13 and trying to watch a movie.
SaltMarshGoblin@reddit
But not all of us who watched it when it came out were 13. I was a senior in HS and hated so many pieces of it, makeover included, and identified with others, and also feel weird uncomfortable nostalgia when I hear Simple Minds's "Don't You Forget About Me"...
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
Thank you.
BitchWidget@reddit
The voice of sanity.
Grand_Taste_8737@reddit
No, I don't remember anyone being weird about it back then. That's a "now" thing.
Fugue_State76@reddit
It’s a now thing for you clearly
Grand_Taste_8737@reddit
Nah, never had never will. I enjoy movies for when they were created and don't impose current fads to them. Ruins the experience, imo.
Fugue_State76@reddit
It was "weird" for many of us back then but clearly we weren't around you. That doesn't mean we didn't exist.
sabrinajestar@reddit
It's a now thing in large part because the goth aesthetic is a lot more accepted now.
viking12344@reddit
A really now thing lol
jbarinsd@reddit
Yes it pissed me off. Me and my fellow “mods” identified with her and her black eyeliner. Her “makeover” was insulting. Despite being a high school senior when it came out I never really liked that movie. That was part of the reason. Also did not like what they did to Andi’s pink prom dress. 👗
Fugue_State76@reddit
Uhh… What’s a mod? Is that a goth? -Young Gen X (‘76) asking for a friend
jbarinsd@reddit
Like mid 80s mild goths. Before they were called goths. Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure etc fans. We wore a lot of black. Smoked clove cigarettes and went to dance clubs. Not sure why we were called Mods because we definitely weren’t Mods (even though we liked The Jam). I thought it was just a so cal thing but I have friends from other parts of the country and they called them Mods too.
potsofjam@reddit
I remember how bad my lungs hurt after a night of getting hammered and smoking unfiltered clove cigarettes.
Cheese-Manipulator@reddit
I didn't like the movie either and never identified with any of the characters. They all seemed like cartoon characters.
Thatstealthygal@reddit
This. She was so cool-looking.
LightFlaky2329@reddit
That dress was a travesty
Left_Connection_8476@reddit
Everyone forgets goth wasn't a thing yet. The makeover brought her up to current trends no one was thinking past yet.
For what it's worth, I remember being more struck that we could clearly see her beautiful eyes.
Beruthiel999@reddit
Goth absolutely WAS a thing already
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus came out in 1979, 6 years before The Breakfast Club. The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, etc had fans who took up that look long before 1985. Goth sound/fashion's roots are from the late 70s.
I never really thought that her character was meant to be goth though. I thought she was just kind of autistic, who got bullied out of her own ways and pressured to be more conventional.
mckenner1122@reddit
Oh, sweetie.
No.
“Goth wasn’t a thing?” You have no idea how absurd you sound.
Maybe it just hadn’t reached whatever pastel colored bleached denim Midwest cornfield you were living in?
Left_Connection_8476@reddit
"yet" hun
New England
Learn to read my other reply where I said, cut and paste "ah, okay pre-internet I was in a working class community surrounded by rural communities and we tended to get trends on the late side. It took it reaching mainstream Hollywood for it to reach us. And at this point, Hollywood mainstream was Claire"
You struggle with reading comment nests before replying, I take it?
mckenner1122@reddit
“Learn to read my other reply…”
LOL. No.
maroongrad@reddit
nah, they're just bitter and trying to pick random fights online. They're fun to poke at and watch them froth though.
Left_Connection_8476@reddit
Ha, yeah and little do they know, I'm from MA and I've always abhorred bleached denim. Joke's on them! 😆
savedbytheblood72@reddit
South Texas. We used to call them "death rockers" 😅
CaffinatedManatee@reddit
Goth started in the 70s. There was definitely a goth clique in my highschool
Cheese-Manipulator@reddit
I didn't see it in my high school but definitely saw it in college in the mid 80s. All of the big goth bands like The Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Alien Sex Fiend, Sisters of Mercy were already well established by then. Joy Division and The Damned led into it in the 70s.
Tiredofthemisinfo@reddit
It was still counter culture not a subculture.
The easiest way to tell which is which, you get subculture at the mall. Lol
That Phd in cultural anthro isn’t completely wasted
LightFlaky2329@reddit
I agree she was before her time. I still go for her look today!
CaffinatedManatee@reddit
Interesting distinction!
Would you say that goth being counter culture made the makeover scene more or less subersibve of how Ally Sheedy's character saw herself?
Left_Connection_8476@reddit
Ah, okay pre-internet I was in a working class community surrounded by rural communities and we tended to get trends on the late side. It took it reaching mainstream Hollywood for it to reach us. And at this point, Hollywood mainstream was Claire. A mass generic audience (mine) saw that as a glow-up, not down.
Sandover5252@reddit
Goth was a nascent thing. Not a trend, but people were looking at her and thinking, “This /could/ be the way! ❤️
N0P3sry@reddit
Nascent? X born in 68. Had three earrings in the left, one in the right and wore eyeliner by 1982/3. Maybe it was nascent around 1980 but by Breakfast club in 85 it was established. Dressed in 90% black DMs, heavy ass chains on wrists, etc etc etc. I Wasn’t the only one and it sure was NOT nascent where I lived.
the gothic scene goes back a ways. It became mainstreamed in the late 80s early 90s AFAIR but it was around a decade before that. Right on the heels of and roughly contemporary with punk.
Strangerin907@reddit
I was solidly in high school when that came out. Nobody was impressed
AnastasiaNo70@reddit
No.
I saw it on a first date in the theater the weekend it premiered. I remember people kind of going “oooo” when she walked out and you could see her face.
It was just seen as the other character being nice to her.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you’re letting me.”
It was cute.
blue_blazer_regular@reddit
This.
Granted, I was 16 and an idiot (still working on it) but to me it read as being about kindness, bonding and defiance of cliques. I thought Allison was cute before makeover, and I thought she was cute after. The big walk out revel was a little silly and movie-y but…like, also sweet. Everyone being vulnerable. And accepting.
AnastasiaNo70@reddit
Yes, it was no deeper than that.
spsled@reddit
Not nearly as ridiculous as removing a pair of glasses and becoming more attractive.
Audrey_Angel@reddit
No.
Everyone so upset. She wasn't goth. She was depressed, self-isolating and unwashed. Remember the excessive dandruff scene?
It's not like she was going to change her style. She ended up in this situation with a prep girl who took an opportunity to spend time with an apparently struggling fellow student. The makeup, different clothing, etc was a temporary thing, with the main event being simply a bit of a glow up designed to take someone out of their affected head space for an afternoon.
Don't make too much of it.
No-Clue4432@reddit
This is a great breakdown of it.
Fugue_State76@reddit
It’s a generous breakdown of it.
happycj@reddit
Nah. Had nothing to do with the result. The entire point was for her to have a real connection to someone else. For someone to engage with her.
She wanted attention. And enjoyed it when she got it.
Some-Cartographer942@reddit
She said she was in detention because she had nothing else to do.
She wanted to make connections.
Charlotte_Braun@reddit
I’ve posted before that. I have a theory why Allison was in detention of her own accord. Because she was crushing on one of the other four. And that the one might have been Claire. So this is her wish fulfillment, being this intimate with Claire. And she’ll hang out with Andy for as long as that lasts because it’s a way of being close to Claire.
happycj@reddit
Innnnnteresting theory!
slade797@reddit
*unfazed
Cheese-Manipulator@reddit
I was like, "Oh come on. Put a cheerleader outfit on her while you're at it."
Chemical_Author7880@reddit
I wasn’t impressed.
This-Explanation4366@reddit
IMHO John Hughes was not the definitive authority on 1980s teens. As a teen myself in the height of the Sixteen Candles/Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink era, those movies felt pretty fake in a lot of ways. My friends in a nothing special neighborhood of Chicago weren't like the rich kids from the suburbs, but Hughes' rich kids weren't even realistic compared to the ones I did know then. My friends were more like Lloyd, Corey and the other kids in "Say Anything". Nobody wanted to be labeled, either. I had true goth friends, but I knew people who liked the aesthetic and the music, but were mostly not all that different and just trying to figure themselves out like the rest of us. That's to me the only thing about BC that sort of rang true.
Anachronism--@reddit
In the movie her character was trying to stay isolated from society with her ‘goth’ look. The makeover was a symbol of her deciding to participate in society.
Good_Nyborg@reddit
We all thought it was like playing dress-up for a the day and nothing more. She'd go back to who she was afterwards.
Left_Connection_8476@reddit
Yes, in fact the "what about Monday" group conversation insinuated they all knew things were going back to "normal" by then
TheKaptinKirk@reddit
Yeah, it was just making her “one of the girls”. More of a ”come play with us”. Not that she’s pretty “now”.
It’s more like how I let my girls paint my toenails once in a while. I’m a guy, btw.
sentient-mist@reddit
It was cringey then too
TertlFace@reddit
It was just the take-off-her-glasses-and-“realize”-she’s-beautiful trope in another form.
battlesong1972@reddit
There’s so much more nuance to the scene than that
tracerhaha@reddit
Because she’s the only one who isn’t actually accepted for who she is. Unlike the others who didn’t have to change squat about themselves.
TwoBitFish@reddit
I didn’t see it that way. She was “invisible” in her home and social life, so she responded by making herself invisible on the outside. This was the first time someone was noticing her. Not the clothes or hair.
battlesong1972@reddit
Not just invisible, but actively trying to weird people out and keep them away
gene-ing_out@reddit
Not entirely sure I agree with that. They all changed (internally more so than externally). I always saw her goth aesthetic as a shield she used to push others away. The makeover shows her allowing herself to have some vulnerability and attempt at opening up to others.
viking12344@reddit
Never saw it that way. It was an attempt to bond. A friendship gesture. To see her as not being accepted until she had make up on is pretty funny and so very "now" lol. Not in a good way either imo
TypePuzzleheaded6228@reddit
do you think she was happier before she changed?
tracerhaha@reddit
Do we have any evidence she was happier after the change?
TypePuzzleheaded6228@reddit
she looked pretty happy.
TheSwedishEagle@reddit
Yes, it was ridiculous.
Reader47b@reddit
It was a high school movie trope, and like all high school movie tropes, it has a bit of the ridiculousness to it. Which is why Another Teen Movie has that classic line - "Oh no, not Janey Briggs! She has glasses and a ponytail! And look! She's got paint on her overalls! She'll never be prom queen!"
marugirl@reddit
I got that it was supposed to be a bonding moment but the 'makeover' was terrible. She was so much more interesting looking before the makeover.
Sweaty-Blacksmith572@reddit
*unfazed
And you missed the whole nuanced and layered meanings of the scene.
low_flying_aircraft@reddit
Everyone amongst my social group at the time viewed it as somewhat ridiculous, because it was such a downgrade.
She was so hot, pre-makeover. Like this cool gothy weirdo. We were all so in love with her in that mode.
And the makeover turns her into a boring normie. Such a disappointment.
It was the disconnect between what is clearly intended by the movie (weirdo suddenly looks pretty and nice) and what we felt (super hot and unique gothy girl gets made boring and bland)
afternever@reddit
Except for the dandruff
Lemosopher@reddit
It wasn't even a normie she was transformed too. It was like a crackhead princess with weird but neat hair outfit. It was not a flattering look at all.
Lemonking_@reddit
It was the 80s. It was not abnormal at the time.
Typical_Version_7487@reddit
I never heard that till social media.
Butterfly_Cat777@reddit
At the time, I accepted it and thought her makeover looked pretty. Now it looks too overly cutesy to me and so un-like Allison's personality - ugh! what was I thinking?? LOL 😄
But even more so, now I think it would have made more sense to the plot for Claire to have a Goth makeover to rebel even more against her parents.
Key_Street1637@reddit
I've always had a propensity toward weird/alt/goth women, so I've always HATED this scene.
minirunner@reddit
Yep. Always hated it.
Adorable_Bag_2611@reddit
Having always been the weird/alt/goth woman, I always hated the scene.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
It's only ridiculous if you miss the point of it, which it seems like you did.
Allison wants to be seen and known by her peers but she's too afraid to be herself, so she resorts to oversharing by dumping her bag out and inviting people to investigate her things. Her look before the makeup is a shield, it's not actually her. When she gets the makeover everyone can actually see her (and literally see her face as is pointed out in the film).
Lashon_Von_Ricks@reddit
See, I think her look before the makeover is actually her. Of course it's not easy to be an outcast, especially in high school so she accepts the makeover from the preppy girl to try to fit in and feel like" one of them".
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
I get it. You're missing the point in the way people typically miss the point. Her look, her behavior, her lying and provocation are all psychological defense mechanisms.
Lashon_Von_Ricks@reddit
I think what I'm really missing is how you seem to have the point and no one else does.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
Considering how many other people have left comments agreeing with me, yes you have missed that also.
Lashon_Von_Ricks@reddit
So truth is decided by majority?
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
Is that what I wrote?
A_Gringo666@reddit
Yes.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
Well, you had a 50/50 shot.
A_Gringo666@reddit
Well you did use an argumentum ad populum, so I really only had one choice.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
No, I didn't.
A_Gringo666@reddit
Yes, you did. You have tried to use popularity for an argument as fact it is correct. Art is subjective. It's a matter of opinion. The only way to answer the question is to ask John Hughes. Popular opinion doesn't make a statement fact. Argumentum ad populum.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
No, I didn't.
I replied to this: "I think what I'm really missing is how you seem to have the point and no one else does." which says, not very competently, that I am the only one who appears to have understood the point I'm making about the film. I pointed out that in fact other people left comments agreeing with me or saying the same thing. Which means that "no one else does" is wrong.
My argument was not "I'm correct because I'm popular", it's "My opinion is not shared by me alone" which is NOT argumentum ad populum.
You're wrong.
Substantial_Cow7628@reddit
I'll take your silence as a concession of the argument.
Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit
Nope. That is the point. She wanted to open up but couldn’t. At least not in a healthy way. Sure, it was the 80’s so the symbolism was tied to looking pretty. But, that’s how cinema works
Glass-Nectarine-3282@reddit
Yeah, a better post would be "have people been missing the point of the scene for 40 years?" Cuz the answer is yes.
Like you said, she WANTS the glowup. She does NOT want to be this hidden lump. She lacked the confidence to be pretty and revealed. That's who she wanted to be.
So yeah, someone can say "gee it's a shame she didn't lean into the emo look," but that's still not what the character was written to want.
People read into characters all the time, and since she was insecure they wanted her to stay insecure because it would make it easier for them to forgive their own insecurities. The psychology is pretty obvious. Granted, when I first watched I misinterpreted it too.
snarpy@reddit
I still don't see what's so ridiculous about it. It's happened in teen movies since the 50s.
I remember seeing it as a twelve year-old and being like "wow she's so pretty" after the makeover, so it absolutely "made sense" according to the aesthetics of the time.
GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit
I never could figure why she wasn’t considered pretty to begin with. But then I wonder how no one sees clerk Kent as Superman.
ilp456@reddit
She was considered pretty. It was the way she presented herself. She was trying to hide in heavy clothes and black eyeliner while also desperately trying to be seen by her parents and the world.
InevitableOk5017@reddit
Clark
madamesoybean@reddit
As someone in the Gen who saw it in the theater: At the time we didn't see it as her getting dolled up or having a Pygmalion moment. It was felt as her making a friend in Claire and coming out of her depressive mode.
tekfunkdub@reddit
I remember thinking why the f you wanna make her a prep
aint_this_something@reddit
I truly hated the preppy look on her but figured she was still the same weirdo, so whatever.
GogglesPisano@reddit
I thought she looked hotter before the makeover.
tracerhaha@reddit
That’s because she was her authentic self and not some dress up doll for others to manipulate.
Mediocre-Proposal686@reddit
She looked so bland after. It wasn’t any kind of improvement lol
louse_yer_pints@reddit
I watched it back then and wasn't bothered, it was a natural story arc for a weird kid in a movie to be "discovered pretty". I watch it now and it's uber cringe and very dated.
dnt1694@reddit
What’s the big deal about this scene?
TypePuzzleheaded6228@reddit
no, why? she smiled, it was sweet.
Grouchy_Branch_510@reddit
No
Objective-Pen-1780@reddit
Yes. Ridiculous.
FearTheReaper73@reddit
Will it ever be OK to say The Breakfast Club is an overrated totally forgettable movie or we’re not ready yet ?
Orangeboi_22@reddit
THANK YOU! This entire movie needs to be filed under "Things 14 year old me thought sounded deep."
GBeastETH@reddit
Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit
Tell me you had good parents without saying you had good parents
LittleTinyTaco@reddit
I'm right there with ya. I'm surprised anyone liked it.
Huevo_con_Chorizo88@reddit
Not there yet. Ask again in 2035. 😝
tranquilrage73@reddit
The "turn the girl with the glasses/braces/weird clothes into a princess" thing was nothing new with this film. It was common back then.
ZzzzzPopPopPop@reddit
Probably hard to find a teen-focused movie from the era that did NOT have this “ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan” theme in it somewhere
moopet@reddit
No, to my non-US eyes it seemed typical. I kind of assumed that's just what Americans were like (having only TV to go on...)
I do remember thinking the standard, "but she looked better before", and "I could imagine being friends with v1 but not v2".
TheKaptinKirk@reddit
Yeah, the makeup was overdone and obviously so.
HIMcDonagh@reddit
It was an exaggeration on the general trend amongst teens of the time. The humor was obvious if you were in that cohort
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
The point I took away from it was that Molly Ringwald's character saw that she was a cute girl under the dark, concealing makeup and wanted to reveal it to her and the others. My daughters would do makeovers to each other and other folks when they were teens, so I've always just seen it as a thing girls do. Not a big deal.
adventurehasaname81@reddit
Legitimately unphased. Makeovers happened all the time in the 1980s, which is why they became a trope in movies.
changelingcd@reddit
I was horrified, but I think John Hughes (who hasn't got half the kicking around he deserves yet) was completely serious. That trope was so embedded (everyone needs to lose their glasses and sweaters, let down their hair, and smile!). Gah.
gauriemma@reddit
It was as bad as Sandy slutting up for Danny at the end of Grease.
Huevo_con_Chorizo88@reddit
She was just saying good bye to Sandra Dee. Lol
badhoopty@reddit
even as a kid i thought she was cuter before being all pinked up.
TinyMavin@reddit
I thought it was a decent glow up at the time; but even then I understood it wasn’t really her. She was made stereotypically beautiful for the eyes of a stereotypical jock.
I think a lot of the “make over” trope is to show that just about anyone can be made to look beautiful by the standards of the day. It’s as if to say, “what we think is beautiful is only an illusion; if this person can be made beautiful, that beautiful person was also made beautiful”. In a real way, this surface level trope should be making the audience look deeper.
It’s a shame that lots of people see it as some kind of indictment of “non-standard” culture. Molly’s character was just trying to help out a new friend.
DogsAreOurFriends@reddit
Just another “oh the ‘ugly’ girl took off glasses and is suddenly hot” scene in my opinion.
YukonSunset@reddit
Back then, the Allison make over wasn't just about Allison, but Claire also.
We saw the last few moments before the makeover where Claire dropped her act as the highschool snob, and feel like she could take on Allison as a friend and not worry about what others thought. Allison too, was feeling like it's okay to trust someone after nearly most of her life feeling like she didn't fit in.
I remember the reactions Brian and Andy gave her, which was impressiveness (Brian) and approval (Andy). Both of them had no issue keeping Allison in a social box that didn't allow her to grow. But when they saw her come out, like a butterfly from a cocoon, they retracted their cynicism about her. Andy even falling for her.
So in my opinion, no, it wasn't ridiculous. As teens back then (or in my case a tween), the social structures in school between popular kids and nerds were incredibly stressful, and the Allison character seemed to break through all of that with a quick change in her look, teaching them all something about themselves.
Today when I watch it, I find her look a bit gimmicky. But the stark difference from black to white was likely deliberate to show the complete turn around.
JJQuantum@reddit
It’s just shallow, but then again high school is shallow.
evidentlynaught@reddit
I think it wasn’t perceived to be about just making her look yuppie like everyone else at the time, it was about her being accepted and treated as an equal. Like sharing the letterman jacket or the earring.
claradox@reddit
Yes, they were passing little important pieces of themselves around and becoming more understanding, more cohesive. Claire shared her earring and her makeup.
MaximumJones@reddit
People were mostly unphased back then. Most teenagers just were not that deep.
It is only in hindsight as adults that most people see the issue with it.
witchofpain@reddit
Right? I’m laughing at all the “it was problematic even back then”. No it wasn’t! The oldest of Gen X were what, 20 when it came out? We didn’t know words like “problematic”. Back then, since I was teen, I took it as Claire was accepting Ally’s character and doing what girls did back then, sharing makeup tips.
MaximumJones@reddit
Nailed it.
Academic_Composer904@reddit
I agree, I preferred her before look. I felt like it was much more about the connection between the characters and them being vulnerable with each other than it was about the actual result of the makeover.
MachineGunTeacher@reddit
This was the era of movies with nerds being made cool. But even back then, I pissed that Allison got made over. And I was pissed that Claire kissed Bender. And I was pissed that they made Brian do all the work while they were doing all of this.
neoprenewedgie@reddit
But that's exactly what makes the movie so great to me. The characters make stupid decisions - just like real people do. And yeah, they "made" Brian do all the work but as a geek myself, that's exactly what I would have wanted to happen: just let me deal with it. (I would have been nervous about carrying the responsibility, but it felt very real to me.)
witchofpain@reddit
And it was very real about how high school and teens thought and acted back then. Every one who saw it could relate to at least one character. And we also all knew that come Monday morning things would revert back.
LadyNorbert@reddit
All of this. I really hate that movie.
SausageSmuggler21@reddit
It wasn't until the 90s where a minor, superficial change allegedly transformed an attractive girl/woman into a socially acceptable attractive girl/woman started getting ridiculed. In this specific instance, it's a little more nuanced, in my opinion. It's the transformation from the girl afraid of her appearance (hiding behind her hair, purposefully sloven, highlighting her dandruff) into a girl becoming more confident in her own skin, even if her guide has a completely different style.
The gross part, however, is that this transformation seems to be completely for the approval of the boys and not for her own empowerment. But, that wasn't really something people considered back in the 80s.
BulljiveBots@reddit
Similar to Sandy in Grease. Both kinda gross now but I still love both movies.
Itis-caught-BearsWin@reddit
Madonna was changing that.
mary_wren11@reddit
I was a new wave/punk girl. I totally related to the before style, but I also thought she looked very pretty after. I'm gay and I had such a crush on Ally Sheedy.
mcsangel2@reddit
both Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald were so pretty in this movie.
m0loch@reddit
HAHA just saw this posted: https://www.reddit.com/r/shittymoviedetails/comments/1svdrky/the_breakfast_club_1985_would_never_be_made_like/
itsshakespeare@reddit
I’m in the UK, and we wondered if that was an American thing, because we all preferred her look before. It’s entirely possible that our American contemporaries felt the same way as we did, but the people in charge of the movie, who were all considerably older, thought it improved her looks
throwpayrollaway@reddit
Yeah I'm of the same way of thinking. I'm in UK too and when you think about it a lot of parents at the time were very traditional. My dad wouldn't even wear jeans to backstreet pubs in Manchester because he thought jeans were too scruffy. These are people who didn't like Hendrix and Led Zeppelin at the time and thought their teenage kids would grow out of dressing in your silly goth stuff and dress conservatively by your mid twenties.
R67H@reddit
We recognized it for what it was: the writer's effort to exploit a common trope. It only "improved" her looks for someone who appreciated that specific aesthetic. My reaction as a teen: Claire turned her into someone her demographic was more comfortable looking at, while implying she was a mutant, otherwise.
wmnoe@reddit
hated it. i loved the goth look she had
butterflygardyn@reddit
All her problems disappeared because she was now pretty. Yeah, it was problematic then too.
Few-Pineapple-5632@reddit
No because it wasn’t ridiculous. Then or now.
coffeeplease1972@reddit
Watched it in a movie theater, dressed in my usual all-black outfit. Lots of other fellow teens there---new wave/alternative, preppy, Esprit/Benetton girls, hip hop, and even a few metalheads all represented.
The GASP when newly made-over Allison appeared on screen, I tell you. We were all like, "Nooooooooooooooo."
HPLoveBux@reddit
This
whistlepig4life@reddit
It was great then and great now.
I think you really missed the entire point of the movies character development for each kid.
bodhidharma132001@reddit
Lightningstruckagain@reddit
Not really. I always assumed she went back to goth chic the very next day.
wordstogetherrandom@reddit
I found it complicated. It was an unprecedented and mostly unrealistic depiction of what a "popular" girl would do. I never saw it as Allison's " new look" as much as Claire trying to share a skill or hobby if you will. She could choose to continue the look or not. I was the quiet geek and in school at the time the move was made and living quite close to the place where it was filmed. It is not a politically correct movie but it was accurate to the time and place.
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
ridiculous how? I (straight f) thought she looked prettier before, but the little details and the vibe were pitch perfect.
I've never worn makeup. in the 80's I got constant uncalled-for "you'd be so pretty if you'd just()" remarks, and my friends were always on at me to "just let me (fill in the blank)".
Fritz5678@reddit
IDK, I always hated the makeover/glowup trope where the girl is now "pretty". Like she wasn't before.
AlltheFerns@reddit
I thought it was a beautiful transformation.
Now, prefer the before. At the time, I couldn’t believe how stunning she looked after.
Context in case it shows the divide: I was a 10 yr old middle class kid living in the Midwest in the US.
fridayimatwork@reddit
It was already a well worn trope like the girl suddenly transformed by taking off her glasses
New-Sheepherder2239@reddit
Never thought about it. How is it “ridiculous”?