When we are at the centre of the tornado, we don’t see the blue sky and sunshine just over the horizon. McCarthy’s fascinating, informal, and insightful documentary focuses on this fact, demonstrating how healing comes with age. Brats is awaiting a U.K. streaming date and is streaming on Hulu in the United States, starting June 13.
1985 marked a turning point in Hollywood; it had been building throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, and it would finally hit its stride in 1985. Old Hollywood was out, and a young, energetic, exciting Hollywood was in! It was the year that gave us The Breakfast Club, St Elmo’s Fire, The Goonies, Teen Wolf, Explorers, Back to the Future, Fright Night, Weird Science and more. It was the year when the youth, energy, and optimism of the teenager stuck a stake in the heart of an older Hollywood establishment. From writers to directors and actors, young Hollywood was to dominate the box office for years and decades to come as a wave of fresh and exciting artists arrived, all eager to reshape the filmmaking world.
For many of them, their journey had begun in the early 1980s as a new and fresh style of youth-orientated filmmaking found its feet through movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Class (1983), Risky Business (1983) and Sixteen Candles (1984), while others found their route into Hollywood through directors like Francis Ford Coppola in dramas such as The Outsiders (1983). However, for all of them, their careers looked bright as Hollywood went through a generational transition, unlike anything we have seen since.
One group of young actors stood at the heart of this hurricane. Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Matt Dillon, Michael J Fox, John Cryer, Timothy Hutton, Molly Ringwald and Jud Nelson.
On June 10, 1985, a New York Magazine article by twenty-nine-year-old writer David Blum about Emilio Estevez would label many of these young stars as the “Brat Pack.” Blum’s article was scathing, as it sliced and diced not only Estevez but also everyone in his orbit, including Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton, and Matt Dillon. However, all three, alongside several others, including Anthony Michael Hall and John Cryer, largely avoided the “Brat Pack” label.
In contrast, others like Molly Ringwald found themselves forever linked to this title despite not being mentioned in the article. Blum may have introduced the phrase, but the public, press and individuals decided which actors sat in this newly formed group.
In his now-famous article, Blum stated, “This is the Hollywood ‘Brat Pack.’ It is to the 1980s what the Rat Pack was to the 1960s—a roving band of famous young stars on the prowl for parties, women, and a good time. And just like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis Jr., these guys work together, too—they’ve carried their friendships over from life into the movies. They make major movies with big directors and get fat contracts and limousines. They have top agents and protective P.R. people. They have legions of fans who write them letters, buy them drinks, follow them home. And, most important, they sell movie tickets.”
While his article solely focused on a handful of young men, Blum’s words held power, especially in a rapidly changing Hollywood; they encouraged a public image of these actors as close friends who worked as a “Pack” and acted like “Brats.” As a result, one article was to change many of their career paths and public images forever. But while the public viewed the “Brat Pack” as a collective of young talent, the friends you wished you had, and the pinups you wanted to kiss, many of the actors suddenly added to this group, separated, and never worked together again in fear of being further labelled. As McCarthy says at the beginning of his insightful documentary Brats, “I felt like I had lost control of the narrative of my career.”
Aside from a nasty quote attributed to one of his co-stars, the article hardly mentioned Andrew McCarthy. Yet, he quickly became labelled as one of the “Brat Pack” due to his central role in St Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink. Building upon many of the discussions raised in his enlightening must-read autobiography “Brat: An 80s Story”, in Brats, Andrew McCarthy embarks on a healing journey, meeting up with Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, Malcolm Gladwell, Bret Easton Ellis, Susannah Gora and more in discussing how the “Brat Pack” altered career trajectories, changed friendships and found further meaning in the public sphere, before finally sitting down with David Blum to talk about the genesis of the article and his thoughts on its impact.
Words carry even more power when you are young, insecure, and just starting out. At a young age, words can define careers, alter public perception and knock self-confidence. However, as McCarthy’s documentary progresses, it becomes clear that a sharp divide existed between the public perception of the “Brat Pack” and the individual experiences of those caught in the ripples of Blum’s article. At one point, Demi Moore says, “Why did we take it as an offence?” as she reflects on her insecurities in her youth. At the same time, Rob Lowe suggests that while the article offended, the so-called “Brat Pack” role was far more important than a mere New York Magazine edition. He discusses how they paved the way for a new Hollywood and TV world where young people’s lives, hopes, dreams, and insecurities were centre stage, and teenagers saw their own struggles reflected on the big screen.
Despite their insecurities as young actors, their impact on the modern world continues to be felt, as films like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink have become a rite of passage for all kids. It’s a powerful argument that McCarthy explores further through screenwriters, casting directors and directors of the time, including a loving exploration of John Hughes’s place as the man who made it happen for so many aspiring young actors.
When we are at the centre of the tornado, we don’t see the blue sky and sunshine just over the horizon. McCarthy’s fascinating, informal, and insightful documentary focuses on this fact, demonstrating how healing comes with age. Blum’s words have lived on, and there is no doubt that he saw an opportunity to take several actors down a peg or two in his writing. Still, he was a young writer eager for a big hit, his world different yet similar to the actors he discussed as he tried to make it big and hold on to it in a changing Hollywood.
As he discusses his article with McCarthy, he says, “I’m glad it’s lived on forever, but I hope it’s not the greatest thing I ever did.” In truth, that article will forever be associated with his name, just as his words will forever be associated with the actors he labelled. But time heals many old wounds, and as life gets shorter and shorter, we understand that while the past must be explored and understood, it’s up to us whether we let it define our future.
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