13 Brat Packers.
I recently watched the Hulu documentary BRATS, Andrew McCarthy's reflection on what it was like to be considered a member of that 1980s phenomenon, The Brat Pack. My favorite part of the movie was when it was established that no one really has a definitive answer to who was in The Brat Pack.
The term was coined by David Blum in a 1985 article about Emilio Estevez and how Estevez and his twenty-something friends/co-stars enjoyed their fame and popularity. Then it expanded to include the cast members of the hit ensemble youth movies St. Elmo's Fire and The Breakfast Club. Sometimes actors who appeared in the movies Pretty in Pink and Taps are included.
Here's the thing: The Brat Pack never actually existed, so there's no real right/wrong answer to who was in it. The following 13 just seems to be -- to borrow from another movie -- the usual suspects.
1. Emilio Estevez (generally acknowledged to be the Head Brat)
2. Judd Nelson
3. Rob Lowe
4. Andrew McCarthy
5. Demi Moore
6. Ally Sheedy
7. Anthony Michael Hall
8. Jon Cryer (who denies being a member)
9. James Spader
10. Mare Winningham
11. Sean Penn
and his fellow Oscar winners
12. Tim Hutton
and
13. Robert Downey Jr.
Tom Cruise is undeniably the most commercially successful actor of that generation yet he's seldom mentioned as a Brat Packer. I don't know why, since he was in Taps. I guess it's because most of his movies were starring vehicles and not ensemble pieces.
Oh well, BRATS is a fun watch if you were a movie goer in the 1980s.
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Yes, I was going to movies in the 1980s and remember watching many movies with the so-called "Brat Pack." I think my favorite of the actors you listed is the last - Robert Downey Jr. Fun post. See you again soon!
ReplyDeleteI watched some of those movies and I think Phoebe Cates was one too.
ReplyDeleteI need to watch this. I'm the same age as the Brat Pack and was part of a similar group during my college years. (of course we were ironic in adopting the moniker--as college students would be)
ReplyDeleteTom Cruise was in a different echelon, which is weird as he was of that age. But yeah. Interesting you didn't include Molly Ringwald, but she wasn't really considered one even though she was in many of those films. I was of that age where I saw all those films.
ReplyDeleteOh, you're absolutely right! As star of Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, Molly Ringwald most DEFINITELY belongs here! My bad. How could I have left her off? She's even in BRATS!
DeleteThe AI says Molly Ringwald was one. I barely remember the 80s anymore! Good post for TT
ReplyDelete