Summary
On July 30, 2025, aNew York Magazinearticle came out about a group of young actors calling them the “Brat Pack,” drastically altering their careers as explored in the documentaryBrats.For most, there is a rift in their careers before and after the article came out.The new documentary by quintessential Brat Pack member Andrew McCarthy explores how the label affected members of the groupof actors under the label’s umbrella. The documentary revealed that each member’s outlook on the article had ramifications but thatmost members of the Brat Pack hated the nickname.
The Brat Pack moviesthatthe actors were a part of were quintessential to ’80s youth culture and remain synonymous with the decade. They reflected the teenage experience of those coming of age. Movies likeThe Breakfast Club(1985)andPretty in Pink(1986)gave teenagers a reflection of their experiences. Unfortunately, the actors felt collectively devastated when the article came out. Afterward, many group members didn’t want to associate with their Brat Pack counterparts, feeling it necessary to distance themselves from a label that many of them found limiting and offensive.
In theNew York Magazinearticle, David Blum defined the Brat Pack as Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Nicolas Cage, and Sean Penn. He mentioned Matthew Broderick, Matthew Modine, and Kevin Bacon as outliers. However, in the film,Andrew McCarthy defines the Brat Pack as Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, and Molly Ringwald. Other people interviewed forBratsechoed more or less an identical list.
7Andrew McCarthy
The Article Deeply Impacted Andrew McCarthy
Before the article came out, Andrew starred in some of his most memorable roles. He was Jonathan inClass(1983) and Kevin Dolenz inSt. Elmo’s Fire(1985). The latter premiered after theNew York Magazinepiece but was produced beforehand and it was the movie that defined the Brat Pack since it came out just over two weeks after the article.McCarthy’s role in the 1985 flick made it impossible for him to escape the Brat Pack label, even though he wasn’t with his co-stars the night they made an impression on the journalist who coined the term.
After the article came some ofAndrew McCarthy’s best movies, like his memorable role as Blane inPretty in Pink(1986). However, he notes in the documentary that he felt his acting career was limited by perception after the article came out and thathe couldn’t get serious roles. He starred inWeekend At Bernie’s(1989) and has acted consistently throughout the last 30 years, but has never had anything that amounted to his work before the article. Andrew’s career now includes his work onBrats,which will likely define his career moving forward in his words.
Andrew McCarthy also directed 15 episodes of the TV seriesOrange Is The New Blackbetween 2013 and 2019.
6Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe Continued To Stay Near The Center Of Hollywood
Rob Lowe acted in a few TV series and starred in a TV movie in the early ’80s beforehe landed his first major role as Sodapop Curtis inThe Outsiders(1983). He advanced into the spotlight further, portraying Skip inClassalongside Andrew McCarthy, John inThe Hotel New Hampshire(1984), and the love-struck Nick De Angelo inOxford Blues(1984). Shortly thereafter, in 1985, he came into the role of Billy Hicks forSt. Elmo’s Fire.While some ofRob Lowe’s best movie and TV roleswere associated with the Brat Pack, many more were not.
Rob Lowe has stayed central to Hollywood throughout his career since the Brat Pack article came out. He starred in other Brat Pack movies likeAbout Last Night(1986), butsuccessfully differentiated himself from the group in the following decades. He was inWayne’s World(1992) andTommy Boy(1995), putting him at the apex of the 1990s zeitgeist. He was a regular in the hit dramaWest Wingfor four seasons and had other memorable TV roles, like his stay onParks and Recreation.Lowe’s positive outlook almost certainly factored into his longevity.
David Blum dubbed Rob Lowe"The Most Beautiful Face"in hisNew York Magazinepiece.
5Judd Nelson
Judd Nelson had several acting credits before he made it big as John Bender inThe Breakfast Club(1985), one ofthe best movies of the 1980s. His other acting credits before 1985 includeRock’n’Roll Hotel(1983),Making the Grade(1984), andFandango(1985).Nelson was in two of the most definitive Brat Pack movies, both of which came out in 1985, the year the article was written:The Breakfast ClubandSt. Elmo’s Fire.His role as the troubled outsider inThe Breakfast Clubis undoubtedly tied to the movie’s success, with his triumphant fist pump as the end of the movie being forever associated with Simple Minds' “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
After the article came out, Nelson continued to act, buthis career didn’t continue on the same upward trajectory of 1985. Looking at Nelson’s acting credits, it’s clear the actor has maintained a steady career and has had consistent roles since the article came out. He was recently inGirl in the Basement(2021) andThe Most Dangerous Game(2022). While he is central to the Brat Pack narrative,Judd Nelson did not appear inBrats. He was mentioned throughout, and while it looked like he might sit down with Andrew at some point, it didn’t happen.
In hisNew York Magazinepiece, David Blum called Judd Nelson"The Overrated One."
4Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is at the center of the Brat Pack.TheNew York Magazinearticle was initially supposed to be a feature that focused on Estevez, but that changed when David Blum was invited out for a wild night at the Hard Rock Cafe with Emilio and his Brat Pack cohorts Judd Nelson and Rob Lowe. The young actor had consistent acting roles before 1985, including his portrayal of Johnny Collins inTex(1982), Two-Bit Matthews inThe Outsiders, and Otto Maddox inRepo Man(1984). His first acting credit was in his father, Martin Sheen’s movieBadlands(1973).
InBrats,Estevez identified with Andrew McCarthy that the Brat Pack article altered his career trajectory. He felt he wasn’t taken seriously as an actor or sought after by revered directors due to how the article positioned him as less than serious about his craft. However, that’s likely more perception as Estevez has noteworthy credits following the article’s publication, includingYoung Guns(1988),The Mighty Ducks(1992), and a small role inMission: Impossible(1996). That said, his acting credits are sparse overall and reflect a truncated career that produced an abundance of neither quality nor quantity.
In his piece, David Blum labeled Emilio Estevez"the unofficial president"of the Brat Pack.
3Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy Kept Acting But Didn’t Feel The Same Spark As Before The Article
Ally Sheedy built a solid foundation for her career in the early 1980s before finding herself in the vortex of the Brat Pack. Herroles in the definitive Brat Pack movies,The Breakfast ClubandSt. Elmo’s Firesolidify her standing in the group. Before that, she was in a series of TV movies and made one-time guest appearances in TV series until she landed roles in Brat Pack adjacent filmsBad Boys(1983),War Games(1983), andOxford Blues(1984). Between her major roles inBreakfast ClubandSt. Elmo’s,she was Helen inTwice in a Lifetime(1985).
The Allison Reynolds actor acted consistently after the article came out. Still, like many of her other Brat Pack counterparts who felt devastated by the article,Sheedy’s career didn’t reach the heights of the work she did with the members of the Brat Pack. She has some noteworthy titles in her repertoire, like her role inLittle Sister(2016), but nothing as big as the Brat Pack movies and with her at the center. Sheedy has been featured in some guest appearances when associated with TV series, and she appeared as Carol Fink in the seriesSingle Drunk Female.
2Demi Moore
Demi Moore Was One Of The Most Successful Actors Of The 1990s
One ofthe biggest reveals from Hulu’sBratsdocumentarywas thatDemi Moore had a different outlook on the articlethan most of the rest of the group. Looking at her work before and after it came out is all the more interesting, knowing that she succeeded where many of her Brat Pack cohorts felt they could not. Before 1985, Demi had several movie roles, includingChoices(1981),Parasite(1982),Blame It on Rio(1984), andNo Small Affair(1984). She landed her first major gig when cast as Jules in Joel Schumacher’sSt. Elmo’s Fire.
Her films in the 1990s made Moore one of the most relevant actors of the decade.
However,Demi Moore’s best moviescame after theNew York Magazinearticle’s release. Demi, of course, starred inGhost(1990) opposite Patrick Swayze. She also starred inA Few Good Men(1992),Indecent Proposal(1993),Disclosure(1994),Striptease(1996), andG.I. Jane(1997) in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, she played Madison Lee inCharlie’s Angels: Full Throttle(2003), and she continued to have significant roles. Her films in the 1990s made Moore one of the most relevant actors of the decade. At the time,Stripteasemade her the highest-paid female film actor of all time.
1Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald Was In And Out Of The Limelight And Has Returned To Acting
Molly Ringwald was a child actor beforeshe landed her breakout Brat Pack role as Samantha inSixteen Candles(1984). As a child, she portrayed Molly Parker inDiff’rent StrokesandThe Facts of Life.She had roles inTempest(1982),Packin' It In(1983), andSpacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone(1983). Although the documentary didn’t focus much on John Hughes’Sixteen Candles,it probably would have if Ringwald had opted to be interviewed. Ringwald wasn’t inSt. Elmo’s Firewith the rest of the group in 1985, but had a memorableBreakfast Clubrole as Claire Standish.
After the article came out, Ringwald’s career didn’t continue the same upward trajectory she had experienced before the article was published. After a series of roles leading out of the 1980s and into the next century,Ringwald disappeared from the spotlight in the early 2000s as she stepped back from acting. Eventually, she returned to the popular seriesThe Secret Life of the American Teenageras the mother of 15-year-old pregnant Amy. She also appeared in the TV seriesRaising Expectations,and, most recently, she appeared inRiverdalein a recurring role for seven seasons. Ringwald was asked to be a part ofBrats;she declined.
The documentary features or mentions"Brat Pack Adjacent"actors Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, Anthony Michael Hall, and others.
Brats
Cast
Brats offers an in-depth look at the lives of military children, capturing the complexities of growing up on the move. Through heartfelt interviews and vivid storytelling, the documentary highlights the resilience and adaptability required to navigate frequent relocations.
