Did Gen Xers think Bender was cool?

I don't know a single person who thought or thinks that Bender was cool.

He was more of the loser outcast type that no one wanted to be friends with. The tragedy is that he is socially inept due to an abusive home life, which tends to lead to a negative feedback cycle.

I thought he was a rebellious douche

I was 18 when I saw this in theaters and thought Bender was insightful and perceptive

Now I see that Bender's just a scared kid (as they all are) using cynicism and snark as a shield

That's why Vernon becomes more of a dick every time I come back to this film. He knew full well that Bender was a frightened poser and used it to bully him.

I thought Andrew was actually the "cool" one -- in spite of his self-hatred he still tried to reach out to Allison, Brian and Claire. I'm more impressed now by how he pressed both Allison and Brian to share their secrets when they clammed up. He was smart enough to see that, in spite of shutting up, they actually wanted to share. That's "cooler" than just making fun of everyone.

But the kids become more kid-like as I get older, too, and not in a bad way.

In fact, having spent decades as a part-time high school teacher, I can say that I've learned more useful info about teenagers from watching this film than I gleaned while I actually was a teenager myself

He was ok, seemed like he was heading into 24 hour observation for mental distress than a tough guy.

I never, ever thought that Ringwald's character would have dated him. Hughes always has those out of left field, unbelievable hook ups in his teen movies.

He was/is the coolest robot ever!!!!