The BratPack was (in retrospect) a very stupid thing. They come along every once in awhile, a group of young actors that star in enough separate projects together that they become immediately recognised as a group.
The BratPack defined the 1980's as they portrayed teenagers and falling in and out of love. Mostly under the direction of the great John Hughes. St Elmos Fire is a bit of an outlier in this scene as they are portraying recent college graduates instead of high schoolers.
Now lets get into this train wreck. This is a movie by Joel Schumacher. If you know about Schumacher you know that almost always means it is an entertainingly horrible.
The movie takes place four months after college graduation and is meant to show the struggles of adjusting to adult life. The problem is essentially the same problem that the music RENT suffers from, the characters are all monsters.
Emilio Esteves is a law student working at the titular bar that all his friends from "unnamed college USA" having been going to since there first year. He is obsessed with a female doctor (Andy Mcdowel) he went on one date with when he was in his first year and she was in her last. He stalks her, tracks her and her boyfriend down, harasses her, sniffs her pillow and the film even includes a POV of him watching them, like a scene from a slasher movie.
His roommate is a struggling journalist (Andrew McCarthy) who constantly goes on about how love doesn't exist and is meaningless, like a 20 year old reddit user. He also has not been on any dates in the time he has been involved in his group of friends. As this is written and directed by Joel Schumacher you'd think that maybe there implying he's gay, something many characters ask him about. This would be very daring for a movie from the days of the aids epidemic and made me at first very proud for the films bravery, but nope. He's just another stalker. he's been obsessed with one of his female friends since college but he's even creepier as he keeps a box of photos of her, again like a serial killer.
Judd Nelson is the man he's in competition with. An uptight aspiring politician who we are told was the leader of the young democrats but has sold out his beliefs and is now working for the Republican Party, AKA a sell out He also cheats on his fiancé constantly and only asked her to marry him because he think that once married he'll become faithful. You'd imagine "oh so he's the villain" but nope he's the leader of the group and just going through a "difficult time".
This douchbag politician's fiancé that the pretentious journalist wants is played by Ally Sheedy and is the most likeable of the characters for the first two 3rds. She is a career woman (note: we never learn her career) who also immeditaly after breaking up with her boyfriend sleeps with the creepy man she knows has been obsessed with her for 4 years, who is also one of her best friends. But thats all fine as I assumed "well at least she's found a nicer guy" (not a nice guy, a nicer guy) but then she decides to remain friends with both of them and will decide who she prefers later. Deliberately toying with there emotions and also remaining friends with the man that attempted to control her entire life and even threatened to impregnates her so she would marry him.
Mare Winningham plays a spoiled daddies girl from a rich family that is constantly taking money from her dad, gives food for the homeless to her rich friends, gets jealous and sad when her ex has the audacity to be interested in other women after she breaks up with him, dates guys she doesn't like because there rich and at the beginning of the movie stands by her boyfriend after he gets her in a car crash but dumps him for .... seeing her in spanks, I don't know. She also insists on loving her ex boyfriend and constantly wanting to get back with him despite him cheating on her constantly.
speaking of the dick of a boyfriend, he (Rob Low) somehow is the most sympathetic male, yet also the worst. He has a child he rarely sees, is constantly getting in and out of bed with the mother, flirts with anything vaguely female shaped and can't hold down a job to save his life. however he has an actually interesting story, he is a frat boy that can't cope with the idea of adulthood. he misses his previous life so much he even attempts to get a job at the frat but due to his life as a partier no one takes him seriously. this would be a great character for a drama as he is an extremely tragic character. He is a just as vile as the other characters but the director frames his actions in a negative light but Evan that is handled poorly as the most disgusting action in the movie is committed by this character, he attempts to rape Demi Moore
Demi Moore was initially my least favourite character as she is a vapid party girl that consumes an entire David bowie Dimond dog tour worth of coacine. she is also a shopaholic that spends so much money she has two check advances three months into a job. she is extremely selfish and self centred through most of the film but she too is not framed positively. We see her world come crashing down and her slowly becoming more and more depressed to the point of (I am not joking here) opening her her window and sits there waiting to freeze to death.
After the culmination of all these stories we see them walk past the bar they hung out in "St Elmo's Fire" where they look in and see a new group of friend sitting at there old table. Attemting to make me think this movie is deep.
This is a frankly unkempt movie and is incredibly immature for a movie about people growing up. I cannot recommend this movie if it was made today but it has two great things. one it is like watching the last season of a soap opera in that I believed the characters relationships and histories, its also crazy as hell. I enjoy the campy Melo drama the same way my enjoy laughing at random episodes of "Holyoaks". the second thing that forces me to recommend this turd of a film is that it is the most 80's movie ever invented. it is pure style ver substance and I can imagine this movie being huge among fashion and costume designers as everyones character is immediately defined by there cloths. Judd Nelson is always Wearing a yuppy suit or long jacket showing both his role as group dad and his political and career orientated mind, Rob Lowe is always wearing something with his university logo on it even when wearing a suit it is a collage blazer until the end when he discards it all after his sexual assault attempt causes him to reevaluate his life and Mare Winningham is always dressed like a grandma showing how she is the most innocent and naive of the group. all this is not to mention some insane choices like Demi's apartment having a giant Billy Idol painting and Ally shed at one point having sex in a bed and shower with a two foot long pearl necklace on the whole time. To most it is no doubt a horrible movie but to me it is a horrible movie that I can find plenty of campy enjoyment in.
1/5 will hate watch again
