Although lacking two key ingredients in Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall, St Elmo’s Fire is the Brat Pack movie.
Ok, it’s not the best script in the world, it’s not the best acting in the world and the characters are not really very likable but the film just has a bit of magic about it.
For me I think it’s the nostalgic feel I get when watching it, nothing can beat Rob Lowe going for it on that sax!
Joel Schumacher co-wrote St Elmo’s with Carl Kurlander who had recently left university. They drew on the own experiences of life after college. The story may not have a whole lot of substance but it was accurate of the situation a lot of young adults found themselves in at that time.
The film is all about a group of friends that are dealing with life after college. I’m not really sure what message if any they were trying to get across but I guess it could be ‘no matter how bad things get, as long as you have a sax and a yellow vest, everything will be ok’.
Brat Pack Rating
Arguably the defining Brat Pack movie along with The Breakfast Club. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll adore it. Gets a 10/10.
St Elmo’s Fire Characters
Billy – The wild child of the group, loves to party but is married with a young baby.
Wendy – Straight laced virgin who has a huge crush on Billy.
Alec – A career in politics is his aim and he’s well on the way but at what cost?
Leslie – Alec’s girlfriend who feels pressured by him into settling down before she is ready.
Kirby – A wannabe lawyer who has developed an obsesion with a woman he met at college.
Kevin – Kevin is a struggling writer who is madly in love with Leslie.
Jules – Like Billy has a wild streak and a cocaine habit to go with it.
Starring; Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy.
St Elmo’s Fire Trivia
Director Joel Schumacher chose Demi Moore for the part of Jules after seeing her flee from a John Hughes casting session.
The characters all went to Georgetown University but the Uni would not allow filming on campus so they used the University of Maryland for these scenes.
Rob Lowe won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor.
Grew Up With Them, After 25 years they still made New Year’s Eve 2010 worth it.