St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire Review

Though I was a teenager in the 80s, and college age when this film came out, this is the first time I've actually seen it. I'm partial to 80s stuff for nostalgic reasons, and this was an enjoyable movie to watch, even though I have almost nothing in common with any of the characters.

I liked the cast of actors, and like the idea of a story about young people making the transition to adulthood and the real world, but wow, some of these characters were really messed up! One thing I kept coming back to is how poorly college prepared these kids for real life - and this is sadly true in real life in a large number of instances.

One of the things that made the movie appealing is the friendship between the seven of them, although this got strained along the way. I had a lot of "good" friends, but nothing like what's portrayed in the film. I suspect that's true of many people. It makes the viewer like them because they like each other, if that makes sense. I think the suggestion in the end is that these guys would always be friends, but the reality is that most school friendships fade when people go different places and different ways. There's definitely some sentimental tugging of the heartstrings at work here, which is not a bad thing.

It's an interesting story, and pretty much on cue for the 80s. I can understand why many people like it.

St. Elmo's Fire Feature

• MCCARTHY/LOWE/MOORE/ESTEVEZ

St. Elmo's Fire Overview

Seven friends, recent college graduates, struggle to find meaning in \real life."
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-JUL-2003
Media Type: DVD"""

St. Elmo's Fire Specifications

A collective vanity piece for the so-called Brat Pack of the 1980s, this coming-of-age movie--written and directed by Joel Schumacher (A Time to Kill)--is a largely unbelievable ensemble piece about college grads having trouble getting a lift-off into adulthood. As in John Hughes's Breakfast Club--which has a lot of casting overlap with this film--each actor plays a rather narrow type with problems common to his or her classification. Some (as with Rob Lowe's seemingly doomstruck character) are more absurd than others. But absurdity isn't the issue in this movie; a general sense of indulgence is. Schumacher not only presumes an undeserved mystique about this cast, but he also exploits it and comes up empty. --Tom Keogh

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