Before everyone was talking about Brat Summer because of Charlie XCX, we were talking about it because of Andrew McCarthy’s documentary Brats, which was about his and his co-star’s time with the Brat Pack.
Today, both Brats came together because the Pretty in Pink star danced to Charlie XCX’s Apple with his daughter, Willow.
I am a child of the ’80s who grew up with the Brat Pack and their movies. So, I was like, what is wrong with them for not wanting to be associated with the title?
Therefore, I have been anxiously waiting for Brats since Andrew McCarthy announced it almost two years ago.
When ABC News Studios and Hulu announced that they were going to be streaming it, I felt like a teenager getting excited to see one of their films in a movie theater.
The Brat Pack was an article written in 1985 by David Blum for New York Magazine. It was a feature on three up-and-coming actors, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson.
Estevez was the main subject because he and Lowe were promoting their film St. Elmo’s Fire, which came out that same month. Which as we know, was a huge hit and propelled a group of actors from playing teenagers to portraying adults in film.
This was supposed to launch their careers as 20-somethings. But then the article came out, and the actors who were considered members of the Brat Pack felt it stalled their careers.
So much so that they don’t talk to each other, and some of them have not seen their co-stars since the movies came out.
McCarthy, after the success of his book Brat: An ’80s Story, decided to do a documentary about what it was like to be a member of the Brat Pack.
If you ask any ’80s kid what they would do to be a member of the Brat Pack, they will tell you that they would sell their soul. However, the members hated it.
McCarthy traveled to LA, and the first actor who is featured is Estevez. You can tell he didn’t want to do this interview because he is still dealing with the ramifications of being named a Brat.
Next, he talks to Ally Sheedy, who is a little more accepting of it. But she also has problems with being declared a member.
So, at this point, I am not loving the doc. I hate that they are shitting on such a remarkable legacy.
But then he talks to Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, and they wear the title with honor. Lowe says they opened the door for future teenagers. And now I am enjoying it a little more.
McCarthy also spoke to Blum about his inspiration for the article. He did not mean any harm with the article or the title. But he does admit that as a 29-year-old writer, he was pompous and made mistakes. He also agreed that some of the article was mean, yet he wouldn’t change it.
At this point, I am not sure how I feel about the doc. My BFF from my teenage years loved it. She texted me, “Andrew McCarthy for President!”
I decided to take a breather. And by breather, I mean read the article that started it all.
And that is where everything changes and how I feel about them hating being in the Brat Pack. They have every reason to be pissed. And it looks like it destroyed most of their careers because most of them never had a hit like they did in 1985.
They suddenly became typecasted with a title, not for their work. We will never know what could’ve been. But it was intriguing to hear where they are today and who still holds a grudge.
In case you are wondering how bad this article is, here is the only mention of McCarthy in it: “And of Andrew McCarthy, one of the New York–based actors in St. Elmo’s Fire, a co-star says, ‘He plays all his roles with too much of the same intensity. I don’t think he’ll make it.’ The Brat Packers save their praise for themselves.”
If I was an actor in my early 20s with the world about to become my oyster and I read that about myself, I would be fucking pissed too.
That is just half a paragraph. They were not shown in the best light in the cover story, and I felt bad for them. It was a tough read. And Brats is light-hearted as compared to Blum’s words.
So now, I appreciate the doc. I have been telling my friends to watch Brats and then read the article. I think you need to go into it with an open mind. I also think if you watch it, you need to read the article because it puts everything into perspective.
There is so much more I can say about the feature, but you need to read it. It is more important for you to watch the program.
McCarthy needs to do more documentaries because he gets people to open up and make them feel comfortable. That, and you want to know more about the story as he is telling it.
And I am saying all of this as someone who was Team Steph (James Spader) in Pretty in Pink.
Andrew McCarthy is a member of the Brat Pack. In the ’80s, it was a club the actors didn’t want to be part of. Now, 40 years later, they have a new outlook on the name they are given.
Andrew McCarthy traveled the country and talked to ex-costars and members about being a part of the group.
On June 17th, we will hear what they think in McCarthy’s documentary Brats on Hulu.
This weekend, McCarty and his St. Elmo’s Fire costars, Demi Moore and Ally Sheedy, and his Pretty in Pink’s nemesis, Jon Cryer, attended a screening of the doc at Tribeca.
That is McCarthy’s connection to the people standing next to him. Did you know that Moore and Cryer starred in No Small Affair and had one? Thirty years later, Cryer starred with Moore’s then-husband, Ashton Butcher, on Two and a Half Men.
Hollywood is a small town. Brat Pack is even smaller than that. As a fan of their movies, I can’t wait to see Brats next Monday.
Back in the ’80s, there was a group of 20-something movie stars who were labeled as the Brat Pack in a Tima Magazine article. The actors starred in the John Hughes films St. Elmo’s Fire and Taps.
To their fans, it was a cool name. To them, it wasn’t a title they wanted to go by. However, they didn’t talk to each other about it.
That was then. Recently, Andrew McCarthy traveled the country and talked to his fellow members of the Pack, such as Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton, and key members of production, including directors, casting directors, screenwriters, and producers, to find out what being in the Brat Pack meant to them.
On June 13th, we will hear what he told them in his documentary Brats, which will stream on Hulu.
“The Brat Pack has cast a long shadow over my life and career,” said McCarthy. “After all these years, I was curious to see how it had affected my fellow Brat Pack members. What I found was surprising — and liberating.”
As an ’80s kid, I can’t wait to see what Blane uncovered! So, I will be watching. Probably more than once.
Andrew McCarthy released his autobiography Brat: An ’80s Story in 2021, and that inspired him to interview his old co-stars for a documentary about his time in the Brat Pack with other ’80s A-List stars.
“The Brat Pack has cast a long shadow over my life and career,” said McCarthy. “After all these years, I was curious to see how it had affected my fellow Brat Pack members. What I found was surprising — and liberating.”
The actor took his camera and spoke with St Elmo’s Fire and Class’ Rob Lowe, One Crazy Summer’s Demi Moore, The Breakfast Club’s Ally Sheedy, The Outsiders’ Emilio Estevez, Pretty In Pink’s Jon Cryer, Some Kind of Wonderful’s Lea Thompson, Tap’s Timothy Hutton, and key members of their films, including directors, casting directors, screenwriters, and producers.
Being part of that infamous club affected all of their lives in different ways, and he will find out how being part of that exclusive club in the ’80s changed their lives and how it did.
McCarthy also interviewed David Blum, the man who coined the phrase the Brat Pack for a 1985 New York Magazine cover story. By doing so, we will find out what inspired him to write those two words that defined a group of up-and-coming actors.
The ABC News Studios special will stream later this year on Hulu. And it is a must-watch for fans of those coming-of-age movies, which also includes Less Than Zaro, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, Oxford Blues, and Better Off Dead.
