The Brat Pack were the darlings of the ’80s. But who were they? There were a lot of young actors who could be on the list. Just about every young star in the ’80s was accused of being member of the pack at some time or another. Here’s a list of the 10 best “Brat Pack” films, with trailers.
Sixteen Candles— Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, John and Joan Cusack. You might have missed the Cusacks. John plays one of the geeks that want to see Molly Ringwald’s panties. Joan is the girl with the large medical appliance around her neck. Samantha (Molly Ringwald) has a crush on Jake, and Jake has a crush on her. They both think the other one hates them. It’s Samantha’s birthday and everyone has forgotten because her sister is getting married to a “Greasy Bohunk”. Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) just wants to see Samantha’s panties. Gedde Watanabe is hilarious as foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong. Everyone ends up with the one they want and somebody finally remembers Samantha’s birthday.
Pretty in Pink—Starring Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, James Spader, Andrew McCarthy. Probably everyone has seen this by now, even kids who weren’t born when it came out. Molly Ringwald is Andie, a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Her best friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer) has a hopeless crush on her. Andrew McCarthy is Blane, a rich boy who asks out Andie. James Spader is Steff, a shallow rich boy who wants Andie. He can’t have her, so he sabotages Blane and Andie’s relationship. Check out the cameo of Andrew Dice Clay as a doorman. Jon Cryer later went on to co-star with Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men. Annie Potts as a wacky record store owner is not to be missed.
The Breakfast Club– Starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Alley Sheedy. Definitive Brat Pack movie. While there may be some debate about the others members of the Brat Pack the 5 kids in this movie were on everyone’s list. Ally Sheedy is so cute as the goth girl, but then at the end she gets a makeover from Molly Ringwald and ends up dressed in pink with bows in her hair. The cool and independent girl becomes a clone of the people who oppressed her. This was a common theme in the ’80s.
St. Elmo’s Fire— Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy. Got almost all the Brat Pack together one last time for a movie about being a grown up and being at a loss as to what to do after college.
.
Less Than Zero— Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader. Spader oozes oily malice as the coke dealer and gigolo Rip. He puts Robert Downey Jr out on the streets as a male prostitute. Lots of drugs, fast cars, loud music and sex in this movie set in LA.
Bad Boys— Ally Sheedy, Sean Penn, Not the Martin Lawrence buddy movie from 1995. This one is often forgotten. It stars a young Sean Penn as a juvenile delinquent who runs over the brother of his rival. Then they have to fight it out in jail. Don’t miss Clancy Brown as the evil inmate named Viking Lofgren.
Johnny Be Goode— This one is noteworthy because it’s so bad. After being such an endearing geek in so many movies Anthony Michael Hall gets his gym and juice on and returns as a much more muscular geek. Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) is a football star being recrutied by every college in the country. Johnny and his buddy Leo (Robert Downey Jr.) take full advantage of the situation, partying across the country on “scholarship” money. Check out Uma Thurman and Jennifer Tilly in sexy roles.
The Outsiders— Starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise. Probably the first of the Brat Pack movies. It’s a story about a gang of greasers fighting a gang of rich kids called the Socs (short for Socials). Patrick Swayze was too old to be in the pack, but he was in a lot of the same movies, usually in the role of wise elder. C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio and Matt Dillon were the bench-warmers of the pack. They were never full fledged members, but a sort of b-team. They were still fine actors. Don’t miss Tom Cruise in an early role.
Red Dawn— Starring Charlie Sheen, Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Grey. People don’t realize that this movie starred many of the Brat Packers. It’s a story about high school kids in the midwest who become guerrillas when the Commies invade. It has Charlie Sheen and Lea Thompson, but it also has a lot of the auxiliary members, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Grey. Watch them fight commies. Wolverines!
Young Guns— Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips. Emilio Estevez is Billy the Kidd, a goofy hothead who gets everyone into trouble, and by trouble I mean dead. Billy and the other Young Guns are taken in by a rancher who acts as a father to them. When he’s killed they take revenge.
