Dated Brat Pack Movie
Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Mare Winningham, Andrew McCarthy, and Andie McDowell headline this brat pack movie about kids fresh out of college who return home and try to cope with life. Ally and Judd's characters are contemplating marriage although Judd continuously cheats on her, while Andrew McCarthy secretly has a love for Ally. Demi Moore's character is in a world of hurt financially and is hooked on coke. Emilio Estevez tries courting the older Andie McDowell, and Mare Winningham is a virgin who is in love with the bad boy Rob Lowe, who is already married with a child (it's working out terribly) but is trying to live the Rock and Roll dream as a saxophone player in a rock band-don't see that too often (kind of corny, every time he's shown playing the sax, it's a little melodramatic, it would've made more sense to have him being a lead singer or guitar player, but oh well).
Anyway, all the characters (except McDowell who tries to distance herself from Estevez throughout the movie) are best friends trying to cope with life, and all the lifestyles contrast against each other. Rob Lowe and Demi Moore are the most similar in the movie, because they need the most help, and their friends have to keep bailing them out. Especially Rob, who is continuously given job opportunities through his friends, but he can't seem to keep any of them. Plus he's an alcoholic who doesn't care too much about his wife and kid. And he gets a DWI, but at least he's a horn playing rock star, so he's got some potential there, or something. And everyone gets together to sort out there problems and catch up with everyone at St. Elmo's bar. Good place for an alcoholic, but isn't that the way life is sometimes?
St. Elmo's Fire is a decent movie, it's a little dated, but most of the brat pack movies are. I don't like it as much as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, or Pretty In Pink; but it's still a pretty good movie. The brat pack movies are kind of funny to watch sometimes, because a lot of the stars of the time can't really adapt to much else, or they're typecast and noone will give them jobs doing anything else. Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and Ally Sheedy are prime examples of this. Outside of The Breakfast Club, can you name one good movie that Ally or Judd were in (Short Circuit doesn't count)? Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and Andie McDowell's careers lasted longer, but they've mostly been buried with the 80's, doing a few projects here and there. Not that I don't like them, they've done decent work. Especially Estevez (Repo Man, Young Guns 1 and 2) and Lowe (The Stand, Bad Influence, Frank and Jesse), and Demi Moore has had a decent career (Ghost, A Few Good Men, The Seventh Sign). Although there are good movies out there, the Brat Pack will forever be remembered for their efforts (good or bad) in movies like St. Elmo's Fire. I wouldn't say it's a great movie, but it's definitely worth watching at least once.Read full review
