Pop Culture References in The Goldbergs - "Breakfast Club"

The Breakfast Club

As the title suggests, tonight's episode is a homage to the classic movie The Breakfast Club. Directed by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club shows a group of disparate teens bond over the course of a Saturday detention. Each cast member represents a different high school stereotype, including the "Jock", the "Nerd", and the "Basket Case".

The Breakfast Club has become synonymous with the 1980s and is considered to be one of the most important movies from that decade. Not only did The Breakfast Club change how Hollywood marketed and made teen movies, it also spawned countless homages and parodies. The movie poster has been homaged countless times, including a photo shoot featuring the cast of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Barry Manilow

In his desperation to recreate The Breakfast Club, Adam tries insulting Principal Ball's wardrobe using a line from the movie about Barry Manilow, but Ball instead outs himself as a "Fanilow". Barry Manilow, of course, is a well-known singer whose popularity peaked in the 1970s. Ball doesn't look or dresses like Manilow, who usually rocks a casual blazer and a dress shirt, but he's definitely of the right age to be a big Manilow fan.

John Hughes

This isn't the first time that The Goldbergs has paid homage to a John Hughes movie. Last season opened with a homage to Risky Business, while Season 2 featured a homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Hughes was one of the biggest movie directors of the 1980s and made his fame making classic coming-of-age movies. In addition to the three movies listed above, he also directed Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, and National Lampoon's Vacation. Hughes tended to use the same group of actors for his films and helped launch the careers of stars like Matthew Broderick, Anthony Michael Hall, and Macaulay Culkin.

Hughes retired in 1994, but continued to write screenplays until his death in 2009.

Revenge of the Nerds

After abandoning his "Loner" wardrobe, Adam shows up to school wearing a Revenge of the Nerds t-shirt. Revenge of the Nerds was another coming-of-age movie from the 1980s, featuring a group of nerds who form a fraternity and inexplicably become the "big men on campus" after besting a frat full of bullies and jocks in a series of Greek Games.

Revenge of the Nerds never quite reached the same level of fame as The Breakfast Club, but it was a great movie for nerds like Adam who often felt bullied and repressed by their peers.

Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald

There's more than a few references in the episode to Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald, two of the stars of The Breakfast Club. Nelson played "the loner" in The Breakfast Club that Adam dresses like throughout the episode. Nelson also starred in St. Elmo's Fire, another classic 1980s film. Nelson's career peaked in the 1980s, but he still is active in Hollywood. His more recent roles included roles in Cabin by the Lake, Two and a Half Men, and Empire.

Molly Ringwald was the "Princess" in The Breakfast Club and became a teen star thanks to her roles in various John Hughes films. Ringwald briefly dated Breakfast Club co-star Anthony Michael Hall (the "Nerd") but eventually transitioned into more mature roles before becoming a TV actor in The Stand and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.