by Emma Svoboda
Andrew McCarthy’s 2024 documentary Brats rehashes the mid-1980s grouping of young actors and their work, featuring flashback interviews, current interviews, movie clips, and Andrew McCarthy’s thoughts on all of it. The term was born from the title of a New York Magazine article of an interview with Emilio Estevez, playing off of the ensemble dynamic like the Rat Pack combined with the assumption of them as spoiled youth. Many consider the young actors of movies like The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, and more to be the Brat Pack.
The film opens with a flashback interview of Andrew McCarthy being asked about the Brat Pack and his thoughts on their “control” over Hollywood. It continues with McCarthy calling former castmates, then interviewing some of them including Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Jon Cryer, Demi Moore, and Rob Lowe. He also interviews authors who have written related media, film critics, Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire casting director Marci Liroff, Pretty in Pink director Howie Deutch, and more.
McCarthy establishes the Brat Pack as himself, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, and Molly Ringwald. The membership of the Brat Pack is up for debate later in the documentary, with some adding Jon Cryer to the mix and taking out others. The interviewees also discussed their opinions of what movies were included in the Brat Pack category. Most “members” or adjacent people felt the term was insulting, since it seemed to be meant as a dig at the overwhelming surge of success for these young people in Hollywood.
Overall, the documentary does a good job covering the process of defining the meaning of the Brat Pack and the effect on both society and the people involved in or adjacent to this group. The use of many different old interviews from each of the actors gives the glimpse into how much they were defined by a term they all despised. The dynamic between the actors is interesting to watch as they break the image that they were all close friends and hung out in an exclusive club. It does a great job of getting the feelings of the actors out there, and they all seemed genuinely comfortable and ready to get it out of their systems. The documentary highlights the era of young adult movies and the culture surrounding them with a nostalgic and charming touch.
Brats is currently available to watch on Hulu and Disney Plus.
