10 Best Brian Johnson Quotes In The Breakfast Club

Brian Johnson is the “brain” of The Breakfast Club. He is the character that the audience least expects to see in Saturday detention. However, Brian is there for a good and rather shocking reason.

Although Brian initially has little in common with the other students, as the day goes on, he discovers that they are all more alike than they realized. Brian’s iconic letter to Vice Principal Mr. Vernon both starts and finishes the movie and encapsulates the themes of The Breakfast Club perfectly.

When He Lets Mr. Vernon Know He Doesn’t Plan To Do Detention Again

“You Know, I Can Answer That Right Now, Sir. That’d Be ‘No’ For Me.”

At the beginning of detention, the villain of this John Hughes movie, Mr. Vernon tells the students they are going to write an essay. “Maybe,” he tells them, “you’ll even decide whether or not you care to return.” Brian is quick to respond. He stands up and declares that he has already made his mind up on that one.

It’s a sweet but pointless thing to do. And, at that moment, Vernon doesn’t care. The power to avoid detention is entirely in Brian’s hands, and the audience can only hope that the extraordinary set of circumstances that brought him there doesn’t occur again.

When He Tries To Contribute To The Conversation

“I’m In The Math Club.”

For a dorky outsider, Brian is keen to join in the gang’s conversations. Here, The Breakfast Club‘s John Bender is mocking Claire for belonging to the Prep Club and Student Council. Brian interjects to let everyone know that he’s in the Math Club and the Physics Club.

Although he seems like a guy with limited social skills, Brian actually has better conversation skills than the other kids, who either consider themselves above talking to the others, just fire off insults, or spend half the day in total silence. Brian looks for things he has in common with the others and then seeks to engage them in conversation, even if his efforts aren’t necessarily well-received.

When He Lies About His Sexual Experience

“I’ve Laid Lots Of Times.”

When Bender calls Brian a “cherry,” Brian is quick to deny it. It’s none of Bender’s business whether he’s a virgin or not, yet he cares enough about it to lie. More damningly, he implies that he’s previously been intimate with Claire. When Bender calls him out on it, he immediately backtracks and tries to scapegoat Bender.

This whole scene doesn’t reflect well on Brian. It shows he’s just as susceptible to toxic masculinity as ” The Jock” and “The Criminal.” This dialogue between Brian and the other characters showcases a surprising aspect of Brian’s personality.

When He Covers For Bender

“Could You Describe The Ruckus, Sir?”

After the group’s trip to Bender’s locker, Bender is placed in solitary confinement, and Brian has Bender’s drugs stashed in his pants. When Bender escapes and reappears in the library after crashing through the ceiling, Vernon is alerted by the loud noise.

The group all covers for Bender, including Brian, who tries to stall Vernon by asking him to describe the “ruckus.” Brian has his own reasons for not wanting Bender to be caught. He is keen to smoke Bender’s marijuana, and when Bender walks to the far end of the library to light up, Brian is quick to follow him.

When He Gets High

“Chicks Cannot Hold De Smoke! That’s What It Is!”

When Brian smokes Bender’s marijuana, it is presumably the first time he has ever done so. Earlier in the movie, when talking about his friends, Brian says, “We don’t get high.” However, once he has decided to participate, Brian seems to enjoy himself immensely.

At one point, he starts doing a Richard Pryor impression, which makes Bender laugh. Arguably, his impression is insensitive on several levels, but the audience forgives him because it’s so out of character to see him so strongly under the influence. It’s a fun moment in the film and a chance to see Brian enjoying himself.

When he Explains Why He Needs Fake ID

“So I Can Vote.”

When Andrew looks at Brian’s fake ID, he laughingly says it’s the worst one he’s ever seen. Brian admits he “goofed it” by making himself 68 years old. Andrew is clearly surprised that Brian has a fake ID at all, as he doesn’t seem the kind of guy who would try to get served alcohol underage.

Brian says, “So I can vote,” as though his explanation is self-evident. It says a lot about Brian that he doesn’t think that voting is a strange motivation for a teenager. Despite his youthful appearance, in many ways, Brian is the most mature one in the group.

When He Reveals That He Knows The Victim Of Andrew’s Assault

“Yeah, I Know Him.”

Andrew is in detention because he physically assaulted another student, Larry Lester, in the locker room. When he talks to the group about what he did, Brian asks, “That was you?” Andrew picked on a skinny, weaker kid because he knew his friends and dad would find it funny.

The fact that Brian knows Larry adds another level of poignancy to Andrew’s confession. The audience never meets Larry Lester, but Brian is also the type of student who would be bullied by jocks at school. Through detention, Andrew and Brian get to know each other well. His friendship with Brian must have made it all the more clear to Andrew that Larry was a real person with real feelings.

When He Criticizes The Popular Kids For Being Shallow

“Then I Assume Allison And I Are Better People Than You Guys, Huh? Us Weirdos.”

At a high school like the one seen in almost every ’80s John Hughes movie, popularity is everything, and Andrew and Claire are two kids who belong to the popular set. When Brian asks if the five of them will still be friends at school on Monday, Claire is quick to tell him that won’t be possible.

Rather than accepting the social hierarchy, Brian questions it. He knows that he wouldn’t base a friendship on such shallow reasons. It’s a lesson all the students learn by the end of the day, but it looks like Brian had it figured out first.

When He Laughs At His Own Trauma

“It’s Not Funny. Yes, It Is. F***in’ Elephant Was Destroyed!”

When Brian shares the story of why he had a gun in his locker, it’s clearly a distressing subject for him. The other students are sympathetic, but when they find out that it was a flare gun and it accidentally went off in his locker, they can’t help but laugh.

At first, Brian tells them it isn’t funny, but then he joins in the laughter, revealing that the reason for his distress – a lamp shaped like an elephant which he couldn’t get to work properly – was destroyed in the process. It’s a nice moment where the support of the group helps to make Brian feel better about his situation.

When He Has The Perfect Ending To The Perfect Essay

“Does That Answer Your Question? Sincerely Yours, The Breakfast Club.”

Brian is the only one of the five characters in The Breakfast Club to write the required essay, but he captures the feelings of the group (and the themes of the movie) perfectly. His essay both begins and finishes the movie and is the only time the term “The Breakfast Club” is used.

In the essay, Brian tells Vernon that each one of the five is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. He counteracts Vernon’s beliefs and their own earlier prejudices and makes a profound point that has resonated with audiences for over 35 years.

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