- Brat Pack (movies)
The Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors and actresses who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented in the 1980s. The term, a play on the
Rat Pack from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a 1985 "New York" magazine cover story, which described a group of roughly interchangeable, but already highly successful and rich, teen stars.cite journal |last=Blum |first=David |authorlink=David Blum |year=1985 |month=June 10 |title=Hollywood's Brat Pack |journal=New York |volume= |issue= |pages=40–47] The group has been characterized by the excessive partying of core members such asRob Lowe ,Judd Nelson andEmilio Estevez ,cite journal |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |coauthors=Steven Paul Davies |year=2000 |month=December |title=The year of the brat |journal=The Guardian |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,411528,00.html |accessdate= 2008-03-19 ] while their films have been described as representative of "the socially apathetic, cynical, money-possessed and ideologically barren eighties generation."cite web |url=http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id299.htm |title=13. The Brat Pack |accessdate=2008-03-18 |last=Manning |first=Jason |year=2000 |work=Material Things |publisher= [http://eightiesclub.tripod.com The Eighties Club] ] [cite web |url=http://www.saxonbullock.com/don't%20you%20forget%20about%20me.htm |title=Don't You Forget About Me |author=Bullock, Saxon |publisher=Originally published in DVD Review |month=September | year=2004 |accessdate=2008-08-15 |quote=...ended up representing both the best and worst of the ambitious, materialistic 'Me' generation.] The movies made frequent use of adolescentarchetype s, were often set in the suburbs surroundingChicago , and focused on white, middle-class teenage angst.cite journal |last=Lurie |first=Karen |title= Brat Pack |journal=St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419200128 |year=2002 |publisher=Gale Group ] cite web |last=Horwitz |first=Laura |title=The Brat Pack: 80's Icons |url=http://www.6degreesfilm.com/features.php?id=79 |accessdate=2008-03-28 ] The "Brat Pack" moniker, often considered in a pejorative sense,cite journal |last=Skow |first=John |year=1986 |month=May 26 |title=Greetings to the Class of '86 |journal=Time Magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961446,00.html |accessdate= 2007-08-31 |quote=...the group of kinda talented, kinda famous young actors somewhat unfairly called the Brat Pack.] [cite news |last=Blum |first=David |title=The Brat Pack Strikes Back Why One Writer Is Weary of His Words |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1987-06-21 |page=8 |quote=All it is, is a condescending load of...] was not known to be used by members of the group.cite web|url=http://www.bratpackconfidential.com/brat-pack.html |title=Brat Pack Confidential: The Players |accessdate=2008-03-19 |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |coauthors=Steven Paul Davies ] cite news |last=Fine |first=Marshall |title=Remember the Brat Pack? Well, Now That They're Grown Up... |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1993-10-24 |page=20 ]Membership
Appearance in one, or both, of the ensemble casts of John Hughes' "
The Breakfast Club " andJoel Schumacher 's "St. Elmo's Fire" is often cited as a prerequisite for being a core Brat Pack member. [cite book |title=Brat Pack: Confidential |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |coauthors=Steven Paul Davies |year=2000 |publisher=B T Batsford |url=http://www.bratpackconfidential.com |isbn=0713486856 ] [cite journal |last=Eaton |first=Andrew |title=For a short time they were on fire, then they vanished into obscurity. Whatever happened to the Brat Pack of the 1980s? |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13099506.html |work=The Scotsman |date=2007-01-20 |accessdate=2008-03-28 ] With this criterion, the most commonly cited members includeEmilio Estevez ,Anthony Michael Hall ,Rob Lowe ,Andrew McCarthy ,Demi Moore ,Judd Nelson ,Molly Ringwald andAlly Sheedy .cite web |url=http://www.thebratpacksite.com |title=The Brat Pack Site |accessdate=2008-03-18 |last=Currie |first=Jamie |year=2003 ] [cite web |url=http://tv.yahoo.com/the-brat-pack-the-e-true-hollywood-story/show/4457 |title=The Brat Pack: The E! True Hollywood Story |accessdate=2008-03-18] [cite web |url=http://www.mutantreviewers.com/rbratpack.html |title=Justin's Guide to the Brat Pack |date=2005-04-06 |accessdate=2008-08-15] [cite web |url=http://www.teenfi.com/movies/bratpack-5780.html |title=What Happened to the Brat Pack? |author=Earnshaw, Helen |date=2008-07-18 |accessdate=2008-08-15] Conspicuously absent from most lists isMare Winningham , the only principal member of either cast who never starred in any other films with any other cast mates.The initial "New York" magazine article covered a group of actors much larger than the currently understood meaning of the term "Brat Pack". For example, most of the cast of "The Outsiders" (including
Tom Cruise ,C. Thomas Howell , andRalph Macchio , none of whom starred in any other 1980s movies with any other core Brat Packers) are mentioned, along withMatthew Broderick andSean Penn .Charlie Sheen is included in several lists more for his family relationship to Brat Pack leader Emilio Estevez and his partying behavior than for his collaborative film work with other members.James Spader andRobert Downey, Jr. have also been considered members and appeared in several films alongside other Brat Packers, most notably together with Andrew McCarthy in "Less Than Zero". (Downey was in two films withAnthony Michael Hall - "Weird Science " and "Johnny Be Good ".) Other actors who have been linked with the group includeJon Cryer ,John Cusack ,Kevin Bacon ,Jami Gertz ,Mary Stuart Masterson , andKiefer Sutherland . Through frequent collaborative work, actorHarry Dean Stanton , then in his late 50s, became amentor for the group of young actors.Filmography
Beyond the two primary films, the list of movies that are considered "Brat Pack" movies is as fluid as its list of members. While Blum's article credits "Taps", a 1981 sleeper starring
Timothy Hutton with Cruise and Penn, as the first Brat Pack movie, the list of movies below represents the more traditional filmography, with each movie including at least two core members in starring roles. One notable exclusion is "Weird Science", which starred only one core member, but was directed by John Hughes and is included in a Universal Studios "Brat Pack" box set. [http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Breakfast-Sixteen-Candles-Science/dp/B000A3DGEE Amazon.com: Brat Pack Collection (The Breakfast Club/ Sixteen Candles/ Weird Science)] ]Other 1980s films, many with similar coming-of-age themes, that starred only one core Brat Pack actor with one or more close contributors include:
* "WarGames " (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick.
* "Bad Boys" (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Sean Penn.
* "No Small Affair " (1984) with Demi Moore and Jon Cryer.
* "Weird Science" (1985) with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey, Jr.
* "Heaven Help Us" (1985) with Andrew McCarthy and Mary Stuart Masterson.
* "One Crazy Summer " (1986) with Demi Moore and John Cusack.
* "Youngblood" (1986) with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.
* "The Pick-up Artist" (1987) with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr.
* "Less Than Zero" (1987) with Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, and Jami Gertz.
* "Mannequin" (1987) with Andrew McCarthy and James Spader.
* "Johnny Be Good " (1988) with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr.
* "Young Guns " (1988) with Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland.
* "Kansas" (1988) with Andrew McCarthy and Matt Dillon.
* "We're No Angels" (1989) with Demi Moore and Sean Penn.
* "Ghost" (1990) with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze.
* "Young Guns II " (1990) with Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland.
* "Men at Work" (1990) with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.ee also
*
Rat pack - 1950s & 1960s
*Frat pack - 1990s & 2000s
* TypecastingReferences
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