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St. Elmo's Fire Customer Reviews (22 - 24 of 37 Reviews)

absolutely wonderful, if you have an evening to blow
St. Elmo's Fire is my favorite movie to watch when feeling self-piteous. Curling up on the couch with a drink and a cigarette, reveling in the fact that these characters' lives are more messed up than mine, but yet wishing I could live so carelessly.
I usually have to turn the movie off after Leslie and Alec's big breakup scene...the movie takes a fairly depressing abd boring turn after this. What I love about this movie is how easy it is to compare your own situations with each of the characters' stories. The only fast-forward-wothy parts are Kirby's crazed obsession with Dale, and the horribly boring existance of Wendy. This is definitely a chick flick, especially if you are a fan of the eighties, or you are in that "right out of college" age group. Everyone can identify with this movie, whether it be real experiences, things you wish would happen, or things you are glad never did.

The only brat pack movie I realy liked...
Okay boys and girls.. I grew up in the Washington DC area and spent many a night bar crawling in Georgetown. True in DC legaly you can't (or couldn't) call a bar a "B-A-R". But outside of that, I remember many of the antics that these charcters got up to. Contrary to what some of the other reviewers have said about this movie this is or was how Georgetown and the surburbs where in the 1980s. I was there and some that 20s year later I still can't believe I lived thru it!

All in all a little campy and several generations to far in the past for the current era. But over all a pretty good film. Funny how I look over the reviews and finally realize why my parents used to shake their heads at me when they tried to describe the more humorous aspects of life in the 40s and 50s.

The Rise of the "Brat Pack"
This excellent movie chronicles the lives of seven friends after their graduation from Georgetown University. Alec (Judd Nelson) is an aspiring politician who has become an aide to a United States Senator. His girlfriend Leslie (Ally Sheedy) is feeling pressured by Alec to make a commitment to marriage which she is not yet ready to make. Kevin (Andrew McCarthy) is a no-nonsense thinker in his views on life. He believes that there is no such thing as a good marriage, and people make their own happiness. He is also secretly in love with Leslie, and this triangle of Alec, Kevin, and Leslie will progress as the movie goes on. Kirby (Emilio Estevez) is a law school graduate who is infatuated with an older former classmate (Andie McDowell). He pursues her relentlessly throughout the film (by today's standards, it would probably be called stalking). Billy (Rob Lowe) is the "rebel" of the group. He is also married and has a child. Despite this, he still chases women and hangs out at bars while his wife stays home with the baby. However, Billy has a soft side and is knowledgeable about people in general. Jules (Demi Moore) is the drug-addicted princess wannabe. She tries to fool her friends into believing that she is living a glamorous life and having a relationship with her boss when in reality she has been fired from her job and the creditors have taken all of her possessions. It takes some quick action from the rest of the group to keep Jules from killing herself after the creditors took her stuff. Finally, there is Wendy (Mare Winningham). She lives with a controlling father and mother who refuse to let her live on her own, and they try to arrange a relationship for her with a man she doesn't even like. She really cares for Billy.

The story content of the movie is excellent . How many of us who developed a close group of friends while away at college wanted to hold onto those relationships forever despite graduating and facing new challenges? This aspect is played out perfectly in the movie. Even after graduation, the group manages to stay close and they even go to the same bar that they hung out at during college.

The film does a good job of handling the conflicts of life as well. For instance, the rift in Alec's and Leslie's relationship is a major part of the film, and when Kevin professes his love for Leslie after her and Alec break up, the dynamics are changed that much more. Also, I thought that Billy's story of him and his family struggles was a high point of the movie, as is Jules problems with self-esteem and drug addiction.

This is an excellent movie. All of the actors (known by critics as the "Brat Pack") give top-notch performances, and the story is one that many of us can directly relate to; the fear of moving on after graduating from college and losing contact with our college friends. Also, who could forget the wonderful theme music as well as John Parr's powerful "Man in Motion" song?

I give this movie my highest recommendation. Watch and see how, against the backdrop of their favorite hang-out, these friends save, betray, and love one another as only close friends can.

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