All the Brat Pack Members Who Appear in ‘Brats’

On June 10, 1989, New York Magazine put a group of young stars on the cover with a headline that would change the course of their careers: “Hollywood’s Brat Pack.” For stars like Molly Ringald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Demi Moore, the moniker proved almost impossible to escape. 

Now, nearly four decades later, Pretty in Pink actor Andrew McCarthy has finally decided to demystify the label with a new documentary, aptly titled Brats.

“It did have personal ramifications,” McCarthy told People. “Were we brats? We were certainly privileged. But there wasn’t anything great about us. We were just in the right place at the right time and represented that seismic change in pop culture. You’re easy prey when you’re exposed in that way.”

McCarthy starred in St. Elmo’s Fire in 1985 alongside Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Mare Winningham. That same year, The Breakfast Club came out. Both movies sent their actors skyrocketing to fame. McCarthy tracked down most of his co-stars for the documentary; though Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson declined to participate, the cast is unsurprisingly stacked. 

Demi Moore

Demi Moore is probably best known for her starring role in Ghost alongside Patrick Swayze, but her Brat Pack credentials have their origin in St. Elmo’s Fire. In the movie, Moore plays a moody writer named Jules, who’s part of a group of recent college graduates trying to figure out adulthood. Moore went on to star in dozens of other films like Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and the late aughts comedy The Joneses. 

Rob Lowe

“I hated the Brat Pack for decades,” Rob Lowe tells McCarthy in Brats. “What a f–king disaster.” 

In St. Elmo’s Fire, Lowe played a husband-slash-dad-slash-drunk named Billy. Two years prior, he also starred in The Outsiders, a legendary adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on the 1967 S. E. Hinton novel of the same name. More recently, he was the loveable albeit goofy Chris Traeger in Parks and Recreation.

Emilio Estevez

Emilio Estevez starred in both The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire; after so much time in the spotlight, he was understandably hesitant to speak with McCarthy for Brats. “I turned everyone down,” he told McCarthy. “Then how come you’re talking to me?” McCarthy countered. “Because you called me. It was time that we cleared the air on a couple of things.” 

Ally Sheedy

Like Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy starred in both The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire, not to mention Blue City and Oxford Blues. Her Brats interview is a trip down memory lane, and McCarthy quickly reveals he had a crush on Sheedy back in the day, but Sheedy denies it. “You did not, Andrew! No you did not.”

Jon Cryer 

“I am not in the Brat Pack.” Jon Cryer is adamant about his independence from the group in Brats, and yet, he did star alongside Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy in the 1986 hit Pretty in Pink. On that note, Cryer revealed that McCarthy was a difficult cast member on the set of the movie while on the carpet for the premiere of Brats at the Tribeca Film Festival. The good news: they’ve since made amends.