St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's fire has been on constant play on HBO lately. I turned it on the other night and watched the whole thing. Yeah, it was a nostalgia trip (I remember watching it a few times on cable ten years ago) but it also has some decent scenes and it really captures a "moment," both for recent college grads and for those of us who were enchanted by the brat pack in the 80s.

I've been reading other people's reviews; several of them whine about how "self-absorbed" these characters are.

Well...um... duh. Yeah. Most movies are about self-absorbed people. Self-absorbed people are more interesting, because they don't care what other people think: self absorbed people feel deeply, they make huge mistakes, and they're generally fun to watch. Some of the greatest movies of all time are about self-absorbed people: Annie Hall (Alvy Singer), Amadeus (Mozart), Leaving Las Vegas (Nic Cage), Goodfellas (Every single mobster in the movie). Mother Theresa was completely giving, completely SELFLESS, and yet I haven't seen a great movie about her. That's not the point.

I'm not saying St. Elmo's Fire is a classic. I'm just saying, calm down people. Take the movie for what it is, a stylized look into one moment in life, and don't be so preachy about what kinds of characters are "appropriate" to focus on.

Seven friends are just out of college. Billy Hicks (Rob Lowe) is sax playing hard partying irresponsible mess with a baby. Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) is a social worker from a wealthy family in love with Billy who keeps covering for him. Kirby Keger (Emilio Estevez) is studying the law and chasing older doctor Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell). Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson) is a political animal living with girlfriend Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy). They're the perfect couple of the group. Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy) is a writer and never in a relationship which leaves some speculating that he's gay. Then there is Jules (Demi Moore) who lives vastly beyond her means. Everybody hangs out at a local hangout called St. Elmo's Bar.

It's soapy. It's cheesy. It's a lot of white people problems. These are privileged self-obsessed characters trying to grow up. Certainly there is a lot of trash talked about of these actors. Besides the stigma of being called 'The Brat Pack', these are some of the best actors of their generation. The story is a jumble of melodrama. The preppy style is terribly dated but it remains a cultural milepost. Let's face it. A sweaty Rob Lowe playing the sax is cheesetastic.

This movie was the cliché post college life of the 1980's, the life every one read about, saw on television or what was told it should be. It fit right in to the very interesting 80's format. Although, this movie is also strongly "Brat Pack" driven and if you don't know or can't relate to these actors the movie doesn't stand a chance. It's not bad, just chummy, overly dramatic loathsome characters carried by well liked actor credentials of the time. Typical coming of age flick for over privileged college kids with some interesting character twists throughout. A very early glimpse of a young Demi Moore is of pertinent interest, Judd Nelson delivers, Emilio does his Emilio thing and of course, there's Rob Lowe. A quintessential 80's film. A rainy day check it out flick.

Seven friends -- fresh out of college and in their mid-20's -- find themselves struggling with real-life issues such as breaking away from an over-bearing family, getting married, raising children, finding a career, finding love and creating an identity, all while trying to maintain a tight-knit friendship with one another as they booze it up at "St. Elmo's," a bar that perhaps served as the grandfather to the coffee shop in "Friends" or even the pub in "How I Met Your Mother." They laugh, they fight, they learn, and by the end of the flick, things have changed, but their "fire" has remained.

You might recognize three stars of "The Breakfast Club" -- Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez -- who have magically turned into college grads, and alongside Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe and Mare Winningham, round out the solid cast of "St. Elmo's Fire." A good decade before bringing a perfectly good "Batman" franchise to its knees, writer/director Joel Schumacher did what few films could do with the "Brat Pack" in tow. That is, he created a film that dared to be over-dramatic and dared to touch upon the ugliness of growing up long after the security of school and family has faded. While some characters and their stories are questionable (Emilio Estevez, I'm looking at you), the little stories that make up their day-to-day life are, for the most part, stuff that everyone goes through, and none of the actors seem ashamed to look ridiculous in portraying the selfish, the immature and the inexperienced. For the most part, the characters feel real, and that's why the film works as well as it does.

Perhaps it's a little too over-dramatic and self-indulgent for its own good, but maybe that's the point. All seven characters are colorful, albeit, horribly flawed human beings, and it shows in the most awkward and endearing moments of the film. You may not understand their decisions or why they choose to bring so much drama down on themselves, but you'll at least relate to it in one way or another. How you interpret and appreciate the film rests both in your position in life and whether or not you can recognize the biggest flaws in yourself. It's a film that will speak volumes to anyone fresh out of college, in their 20's or with the hindsight to realize how silly and self-made much of the drama in their life has been.

When I first saw this film I was about 14. I loved it back then because there were so many cool actors in it. That is why, nothing more and nothing less. But now, as I am a young adult perhaps going through some of the same scenarios and fears and insecurities that these people are in the movie, I can appreciate it a whole lot more. Not only is it a film that has an incredible young cast in it, but it is a film that does a great job of dealing with a plethora of issues. My favourite character was Billy, the Rob Lowe character. Sometimes his intentions weren't always spelled out for us, but there are subleties about the way he plays his character that really hit home. You can tell that he misses the easier days of college. The days where all he had to do was play sports and smoke up a bit. But now he is in real life and he can't quite seem to find his niche. He is still the good looking playboy that can get laid whenever he feels like it, but as for dealing with real life issues, he is confused and scared. And he masks that insecurity by being a playboy. It's a great character study. Many of the other characters in the film have interesting stories as well. None of them have quite figured out what the meaning of life is yet and all of them are kind of living on the edge. All are attempting to get by with what they have, but what it ultimately comes down to is that none of them really knows the answers. Maybe some have become more successful than others but deep down they are all scared of life. Now I don't know about other mid 20's people, but I can sure relate to what they are feeling and going through. And this movie made me feel like I am not the only one that may not have all the answers. If this is a film that you haven't seen in a few years, watch it. Admire what it wants to say. Take it for what it is. I really enjoyed what this film was about. And it made me feel a bit better about life, after all, we're all going through St. Elmo's Fire.