During the first half of the 1980s, a notable paradigm shift occurred in Hollywood. Indeed, after a handful of productions aimed at a teenage audience hitherto neglected by the studios had grossed big, “teen movies” multiplied. Consequently, theaters filled with young people eager to recognize themselves on the silver screen. A new star system was born. Andrew McCarthy was part of it, along with other stars barely in their twenties. In 1985, an article nicknamed the group the Brat Pack, a play on words with Frank Sinatra and Co.’s Rat Pack, except that brat means “spoiled child”. The label stuck. In 2024, McCarthy, who has since become a globe-trotting reporter then a director, revisits this reviled name in the documentary Brats.
To do this, the headliner of hits of the time like Pretty in Pink (Candy pink), St. Elmo’s Fire (St. Elmo’s Fire) And Model went to meet then-playing partners including Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe and Ally Sheedy. Excerpts from iconic films parade like Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Sixteen Candles…
It must be understood that the article in question painted an overall unflattering portrait of these young performers, willingly portrayed as lacking seriousness in relation to the profession, and always partying together. This is also one of the myths that the documentary debunks: the members of the Brat Pack hardly saw each other in life. Numerous extracts from interviews from that time also show them to be very eloquent about the profession…
In this regard, McCarthy’s use of various audiovisual archives often proves judicious, with comments from the past sometimes offering a counterpoint, sometimes an echo to those collected in the present.
Open heart
What is immediately striking is the ambient frankness. This is apparent from the first “visit”, when Andrew McCarthy shows up at Emilio Estevez’s house, whom he has not seen for almost forty years, since the premiere of St. Elmo’s Fire.
In an interesting choice, McCarthy has kept in editing the entire beginning of the conversation, initially marked by discomfort and reserve, but which very quickly transforms into an open-hearted exchange. The speed with which these two men, who admit to having never been friends during their stardom, suddenly share very intimate reflections justifies McCarthy’s entire approach.
In fact, as the latter confided to us in an interview: “The Brat Pack label was a seismic event in my life […] I was curious to hear from others about this club, this club we didn’t ask to be a member of… Was their experience the same as mine? […] If tomorrow I met someone with whom I made a film thirty years ago, I might not have anything to say to them. But as I say to Emilio in the documentary, since he and I were members of this thing, this thing that happened to us and affected our lives and partly defined our path, we have a point of connection.
This “connection” is especially evident with Demi Moore, who is at the heart of the most enjoyable segment. Visibly delighted to welcome McCarthy, Moore listens to him warmly, then confides in herself, before kindly “psychoanalyzing” her guest: tasty.
Universal dimension
It should be noted that apart from those of the official and unofficial members (like Jon Cryer and Lea Thompson) of the Brat Pack, McCarthy sought the insight of a sociologist, a film historian, and an author specializing in the catalog of films concerned. … David Blum, the author of the article New York Magazine originator of the nickname Brat Pack, also agreed to participate.
The journalist does not formulate any mea culpa, but admits half-heartedly that his words may have had harmful consequences. A tense moment, but elegantly negotiated by McCarthy and Blum.
Certainly, Bratswhich has a crafty and intimate side that is eminently touching, will appeal above all to the generation that grew up with teen films of the 1980s. However, Andrew McCarthy’s quest, which is, in short, confronting a past trauma and finding something positive in an event long perceived as negative, has a universal dimension.
In that it is possible to transpose onto said quest any clash, dissatisfaction or “unresolved issue” of one’s own existence. In short, after having identified with the characters, we can now identify with the people who immortalized them.