Meeting the Brat Pack
40 Years Later

Do you guys remember the “Brat Pack” from the 1980s? It was a group of young, up-and-coming actors who often starred in teen-oriented movies. They included Emilio Estevez, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson, among others. Many of them starred together in St. Elmo's Fire.

I consider this film a definite must-watch for 1980s cinema. It's a quintessential coming-of-age drama, the kind that defined an entire generation. Reality Bites came nine years later, and it helped that the movie starred some of the best young actors of its time, many of whom are now considered icons.

The cast earned the name “Brat Pack” from a 1985 magazine article, a play on “Rat Pack,” the famous group of stars from the 1950s and 1960s. I guess the “Brat” in this instance referred not just to the young stars themselves, but also to the fact that they often portrayed young characters on screen.

In St. Elmo's Fire, they all played Georgetown University graduates setting out on their own in the real world, getting into all sorts of shenanigans along the way. It's a fun little romp that perfectly captured the energy, but also the anxiety, the youth felt at the time, especially as they stood on the precipice of adulthood.

It all sounds fun at first, but I later learned the term didn't always have a positive impact on these stars. Though the actors went on to make a name for themselves, several of them have said the Brat Pack label followed them for years.

Andrew McCarthy even directed the 2024 documentary all about it, named “Brats.” In it, he explored what happened to the cast of St. Elmo's Fire and how the article that named them the Brat Pack impacted their careers. I was there when the documentary premiered at the Tribeca Festival on June 7, 2024.

I even met some of the Brat Pack myself and got them to sign my St. Elmo's Fire movie poster. Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, and Ally Sheedy were all there, looking better than ever. They were so delightful when I asked for their autographs, too. I didn't sense any ego.

The same goes for Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson when I saw them at The Breakfast Club reunion at the 2025 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. I got them and Sheedy to sign two posters, one of which was the Breakfast Club movie poster, and they were all nice about it.

I'd go on to meet the other members of the Brat Pack from St. Elmo's Fire, and I'm glad they've since grown out of that moniker. As fun as it was to see the phenomenon it became, it was enlightening to watch them explain that it was all hype at the time.

That's why I'm even happier when I see them succeed. For instance, when Demi Moore was nominated for Best Actress for The Substance, I couldn't help but root for her. She didn't win, but given what she's been through in her career after St. Elmo's Fire, I still considered it a victory.