David Edelstein

“The actors are splendid--only Nelson more obnoxious than his obnoxious character warrents. . . . Best of all is Ally Sheedy, who plays one of those odd, silent girls who sit in back of a class and never say anything--they might be weaving spells. She's witchy and sly, and she blurts her lines in a voice unaccustomed to being a mouthpiece for so nimble a mind.

“A special purity attaches to a project like this, and one envies these kids their exclusive seminar in acting and group dynamics. You can imagine them making lists of their characters' favorite foods and colors and rock groups; you can picture them doing improvs and mirror exercises and trying one another's roles on for size. They do achieve communion, but that has little to do with the plodding speeches in the script. No, these kids touch one antoher because they're acting together, as an ensemble, and the theater is the only place in high school where jock and nerd, princess and recluse, brain and moron work in tandem. And love it. What lives in The Breakfast Club is the joy of making scenes.”

David Edelstein
Village Voice, February 26, 1985 ?