There should be more love for Andrew McCarthy‘s new documentary, “Brats.” Most of what I’m seeing about the docu is…disappointing. People complaining it isn’t the light, fluffy, slightly pointless featurette style retrospective we see so often. Instead, it’s an honest and heartfelt surface dive of someone who lived through a media-caused career shift.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a big hit of 80s nostalgia, too. You’ll have that Leo-pointing-at-the-TV moment more than once. So if that’s an important thing for you, you’ll be fine. The BIG reason to watch this film is when McCarthy FINALLY confronts the journalist who coined the phrase, “Brat Pack.”
I wish more of the press surrounding the rollout was about this moment, and less about the “oh hey, that’s a scene from ‘Saint Elmo’s Fire,’ ‘look it’s Jon Cryer [who, if Lea Thompson is brat-pack adjacent, is also absolutely brat pack adjacent].'”
Interviews with Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, and Rob Lowe will no doubt satisfy those hoping for glimpses of the more commonly known faces. But Ally Sheedy kind of steals the show, with her smile and openness. You’ll find much to identify with, and much to stay mad about; especially when it comes to David Blum‘s sheer refusal to admit any kind of fault for his hit piece against a group of young actors he was simply jealous of.
If you’re looking for a clip show- a collection of shots from all your favorite movies of the era- this isn’t that. What it is, honestly, is kind of a love letter to what John Hughes was so good at. Expressing things we all feel in such a way that we KNOW exactly that level of angst, fear, and triumph. Albiet in a much more public way, but I dare you not to find something this group experienced you haven’t felt at some point.
This is all a very fancy way to say it’s a good documentary, from the point of view only someone who was there can tell. It’s worth a watch.
“Brats” is currently streaming on Hulu.
