THE DRAMA CLUB // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE CLASS"
The Breakfast Club, the classic 80's homage to teenage rebellion bonding over a Saturday detention, has been copied, parodied and repeated many times since it first appeared on the big screen. Such comparisons obviously lie directly in front of the new film THE CLASS, most notably because it stars original 80's Breakfast Club star Anthony Michael Hall in it. It even has 80's pop superstar Debbie Gibson as their teacher. Hall himself has brought up these comparisons in interviews. The Breakfast Club was truly original and (though there are definitely things that are problamatic looking back at in in a modern eye) it's chock full of charm, kids talking like actual kids, strong characters and solid dialogue. Sadly in, The Class, there is none of the charm, class or originality inside of this take on teenagers stuck at school on a Saturday.
The premise is based around six drama students at Olympia High have to take a Saturday make-up class in order to graduate. Already the idea is wading in ridiculous territory, but having Hall in the film gains a lot of good will. Hall plays the opposite of who his Breakfast Club character would have grown up to be. He's Mr. Faulk, the "Mr. Vernon" character of the piece, a stuffy high school administer who's attending this Saturday make-up class to make sure everything is on the up and up (But since there's also a teacher there, him being there doesn't really make sense). Gibson plays Miranda, the always upbeat drama teacher who believes in the kids and wants to see them succeed. The group of students consist of two Breakfast Club like characters and several others that are more modern day types. There's Michael (Michael Sebastian), the "Emilio Estevez" like jock and Jason (Charlie Gillespie), the "Judd Nelson" like troublemaker. In addition we have Allie (Juliette Celozzi), Jessie (Hannah Kepple), Max (Colin McCalla) and Casey (Lyric Ross). Miranda puts them into groups of two and tells them they have to write scenes and create characters to "help them find themselves." Mr. Faulk begins the film rolling his eyes and although we're not meant to be on his side, we are a good majority of the film. This class is ridiculous.
Almost immediately everyone is fighting, with even one of the students making semi-serious threats to blow up the school, something that as a writer feels horribly irresponsible to put into a teenage kids mouth that we're trying to bond with in a "comedy." A comedy without a Heathers kind of spin, especially in this day and age. Each of them begin to reveal secrets, none of which come out naturally. Some are pulled out of them with NO notice. One character gives an off-hand remark that maybe her partner's character is gay. Her partner freaks out immediately and... well, you can immediately see that his secret is that he's in the closet and that he's now been outed in the most clumsy way possible. One student has Cancer. Multiple students have childhood trauma. One character just wants to sing dammit! Sing out Louise! And she does, with a polished sounding studio song that absolutely doesn't feel like a shy kid who thinks they sound like crap. And all of these "secrets" are told with wispy indie elevator music playing behind them. It's painfully earnest in the best moments and just plain painful in the rest.
Anthony Michael Hall is the best thing in the film by far, which also shows how solid of an actor he is, because his character is the most underwritten in the film. He's more or less given the direction "stare," "contemplate" or try and sneak a peek inside a classroom where students are rehearsing. "Why would he do that," you ask? "Why would students who are forced for a make-up class be given privileges to roam anywhere in or outside of the school" you may also ask? "Why do the two main teachers keep exiting the room to argue, leaving the kids alone," you ask? If you're asking such reasonable questions, you've already overthought The Class. Debbie Gibson's constant note seems to be "always be smiling," so there isn't much of a character journey with her, but she comes out better than the rest. The students, sadly, are mostly pretty terrible, both with their dialogue, their delivery and their awkward interactions. Kids just don't talk like these kids. It's clear that this is supposed to be a lovely homage to The Breakfast Club, but instead it comes out as an awful wannabe sequel. At a running time of almost two hours, it also really overstays its welcome. Instead of attending this class, maybe just skip and go stream The Breakfast Club instead. Teachers orders.
GRADE: D-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Nicholas Celozzi STARRING Anthony Michael Hall, Debbie Gibson, Charlie Gillespie, Hannah Kepple, Lyric Ross, Colin McCalla, Juliette Celozzi. IN SELECT THEATRES AND ON DEMAND SEPTEMBER 9TH.