Weird breakfast candles

In Kevin Smith’s 1999 film Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob went on a quest to find Shermer, Ill.—the mythical city that plays host to boob-grabbing grandmas, horny foreign-exchange students, the oh-so-yummy Jake Ryan, teenage Frankensteins and the Brat Pack. While Jay and Silent Bob’s search proved unsuccessful, the recently released High School Flashback Collection featuring Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, is a portal for those yearning for a slice of Hughes-esque America.

Unlike the 2005 release of the Brat Pack Collection (featuring the same three films), this collection includes bonus features and comes in a high-school-locker-inspired collector’s tin. Each film is followed by documentaries featuring interviews with cast members and filmmakers, such as Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High). You won’t find many new tidbits or behind-the-scenes secrets in these documentaries, since the movies have been extensively dissected in previous VH1 and MTV specials.

Sincerely Yours, the 12-part documentary for The Breakfast Club, includes a discussion with costume designer Marilyn Vance about the clothing choices for each character. The movie is about one day in the life of detention-burdened teens, but the research and detail that went into creating those costumes is interesting.

Weird Science, the non sequitur of John Hughes’ coming-of-age films, includes the 1994 TV pilot episode of “She’s Alive,” which ran for a surprising 88 episodes on USA Network. The best part of Weird Science—if you’re not particularly attracted to Kelly LeBrock—is Bill Paxton as the disdainfully crass older brother Chet. Also, keep a lookout for what appears to be Cynthia Nixon during the big party scene in the movie.

The three-piece set is perfect for those 20-somethings who grew up watching these ’80s classics on TV. It really just isn’t the same without the nudity, language or the pot-smoking scene in The Breakfast Club.