This dark theory about The Breakfast Club will change your mind about the film

After nearly 40 years, you’d think we’d know everything about John Hughes’ classic prison film. The Breakfast Club. The plot seems so simple. Set over the course of a single day, it follows five very different high school students as they endure a day of Saturday detention. They argue, they get drunk together, they talk about their trauma, and they part ways as close friends.

Simple, right? That’s what I thought too, until I recently rewatched the classic “Brat Pack” almost 40 years after its original release. And I noticed something DARK that I have never seen. Stay tuned because I have a spooky theory about Claire, played by Molly Ringwald, that will change your mind about The Breakfast Club.

Claire has a very scary father.

My theory starts at the very beginning of my rewatch. The movie opens with the teens being dropped off at their high school, Shermer High, on Saturday morning. We start with Claire (Molly Ringwald) being dropped off by her father. Watching the movie as an adult in 2024, I couldn’t help but notice how creepy her father was. The way he stared at her, especially at her chest. The way he turned his whole body toward her, locking her in. The way his voice sounded too saccharine. It made me uncomfortable in that gut-level way that you can’t quite explain to someone who doesn’t understand.

Claire is the only one who doesn’t talk about her trauma. Why?

Towards the end of the film, after the kids have argued, gotten stoned and bonded, they start to talk openly about why they’re in detention and what drove them to do what they did. We hear some hard stuff about compulsive lying, the pressure to be someone else and even self-harm. When it’s Claire’s turn, she stays silent. Bender (Judd Nelson) provokes her in a way that brings up her relationship with her father:

Bender: God! You are so pathetic. Never do that, always Compare yourself to me, okay. You have everything and I have shit. Damn Rapunzel, right? The school would probably be closed if you didn’t show up. Queenie isn’t here. I like those earrings, Claire.

Claire: Shut up.

Bender: Are those real diamonds, Claire?

Claire: Shut up.

Bender: I believe so. Did you work for the money for those earrings?

Claire: Shut up.

Bender: Or did your dad buy them for you?

Claire is the most emotional and upset person in the whole movie at the end of this conversation. But why? And why doesn’t she talk about it like everyone else? Clearly something is wrong with her father. Maybe she’s more like Bender than he thinks? And we can go back to an earlier scene for some answers.

As the film begins, the kids are eating lunch and Bender decides to act out what goes on in his household. The one-man show culminates in an allusion to his father beating him. When he finishes, the first reaction is Andy (Emilio Estevez) saying that Bender must be lying. Bender shows evidence of a cigar burning his arm, but it’s too late. Andy didn’t believe him and the mood turns somber.

So if Claire had a similar experience at home with an abusive father, she would fear that no one would believe her if she said anything, hence her later silence. If her father had been sexually abusive, which is my theory, she would be too afraid to say anything even if everyone else had been so open. Why would anyone believe her? They didn’t believe Bender. And perhaps she is most upset by the comment about her diamond earrings, because Bender is right: They are a perverse, weirdly romantic gift from her tormentor: her father.

John Bender as the ultimate protector.

After the emotional fight over her earrings, the teens become carefree again and dance around the Shermer High library before returning to their original positions: everyone sits at their desks, except for Bender, who goes back to the closet he was supposed to be locked in. Shortly after, Claire joins him and they kiss. He says that he would be a good person for her if she wanted to get back at her parents, and that’s exactly what happens next.

Saturday detention is over and everything has changed. Andy is dating Allison (Ally Sheedy), Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) has a bunch of cool new friends, and Claire and Bender walk out hand in hand. As they say goodbye, Claire takes out one of her diamond earrings and gives it to Bender. They lean on the hood of a car and kiss passionately.

It’s only after Claire gets through the make-out and into the car that you realize she kissed the town’s bad boy by her parents’ car while they watched. And since he dropped her off, it’s very likely her dad was watching. How much do you want to bet that Claire put on this show to warn her obnoxious father that she’s now dating Bender? Her dad now knows that Bender has one of her fabled diamond earrings, and he’ll do anything to protect her if someone goes too far.

Check out this TikTok for example clips.

If you are still undecided about my dark The Breakfast Club Fan theory – that Claire is hiding the secret of being abused by her father and that she is dating him partly to protect Bender – I address this in this TikTok with examples of scenes from the film:

@trishainfinity

did I just discover a dark subplot in The Breakfast Club? #thebreakfastclub #fantheory #filmtheory #fypage #johnhughes #bratpack

♬ Original sound – Trisha Bartle

What do you think? Is this theory far-fetched? You can voice your opinion in the comments of the TikTok. And if you are still not convinced, you can watch The Breakfast Club on Netflix.