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For Molly Ringwald, re-watching The Breakfast Club with her children changed the way she treats parenting
Molly Ringwald shares the experiences she had rewatching The Breakfast Club with her kids
Chicago's C2E2 2025 was three days of comics, community, celebrities, and pizza (Pequod's, if you want to know). Read our full recap of the weekend, watch all of the Main Stage panel videos, see all the best cosplay photos, and more. And if you want to do it all again next year, we've got the dates for C2E2 2026, too.
When Molly Ringwald starred in The Breakfast Club, she was a teenage girl much like her character Claire Standish. Now, 40 years later, she’s looking at the movie and the role through new eyes. In fact, it’s changed the way she parents her children.
“I’ve watched them with my kids, and it’s a wild experience,” Ringwald said during the Don’t You Forget About Me: The Breakfast Club 40th Anniversary Reunion panel at C2E2 2025. “I watched the first one with my now 21-year-old daughter when she was a little too young to watch it, but it was pretty amazing. We ended up doing a piece about it for This American Life.”
Watch the 'Don't You Forget About Me: The Breakfast Club 40th Anniversary Reunion' panel from the C2E2 2025 Main Stage powered by CGC x JSA right now:
“I have to say, it changed my parenting watching it with her. A lot of the stuff went over her head thankfully, but how it spoke to her, which characters she identified with and why, it opened up this incredible conversation. If you would’ve told me that when I was 16 years old that one day I would be watching that movie with my 10-year-old, and change the way that I parent, I mean, it’s just mind blowing.”
Ringwald watched the films again with her other kids, and another mind blowing moment happened.
“And then I watched the movie recently with my 15-year-olds. A little more appropriate age, and I have to say they didn’t pick up their phones once. Which to me, that was a win.”
This caused the audience to applaud. If you have teenagers in your life, then you know how hard it is to get them to put their phones down.
That’s the power of The Breakfast Club.
Popverse members can watch Don’t You Forget About Me: The Breakfast Club 40th Anniversary Reunion from C2E2 2025's Main Stage powered by CGC x JSA for yourself as part of Popverse's all-encompassing coverage of C2E2 2025.
About C2E2 2025
Comics, cosplay, gaming, authors, and anime abound in the only pop culture convention in the heart of Downtown Chicago! We've gathered your favorite celebrities, unique exhibitors, incredible comic creators, and larger-than-life literary authors into one place to celebrate the fandoms you love. From the halls of Artist Alley to the depths of the Show Floor, our goal is to provide a space of creativity and fun, but most importantly, one that cultivates a sense of belonging, safety, and inclusiveness.
Dates
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Location
Chicago's McCormick Place
United States
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