Friday, November 07, 2008

Your Turn

Yesterday when I posted the photos of Andrew McCarthy and Anthony Michael Hall it got me to thinking about all the brat pack films. Not that I went home and watched one. Instead I went home and watched Inconvenient Truth for the first time. I know, but I'm slow. Anyway though, I did think about brat pack films yesterday and realized that although I have seen them all, there are some I enjoy watching again more than others. So, today, your favorite brat pack film is the subject of Your Turn. I think I'm going with Pretty In Pink just because it was a little edgier than the rest. You can also stretch it somewhat if you want. Less Than Zero is not really a "brat pack" film, but it does have Andrew McCarthy in it so that would fit.

83 comments:

Get a Life said...

Hmmm...that's a hard one because I loved them all but I'd say it's a toss up between Breakfast Club and Weird Science (candlewax on the nipples still makes me laugh and on the tv version they said candlewax on the pimples as she's pointing to her boobs).

Picky B. said...

I'm going to have to go with Enty on this one -- Pretty in Pink all the way! My best friend and I must have watched that movie a hundred times from junior high through graduation. I wanted a Ducky of my own so badly! Might have to stop at the video store on the way home and rent it! Have a great weekend everyone.

Molly said...

breakfast club.

Maja With a J said...

St. Elmo's Fire. Including the title song!

Although I saw a picture of Judd Nelson from the Breakfast Club today and remembered how much I love that movie too.

But my vote still goes to St. Elmo's Fire. I hope it counts as "brat pack".

Abaddon said...

Oh, Breakfast Club all the way. Followed by Pretty in Pink. Then sixteen Candles.

Kristen S. said...

Breakfast Club, no doubt!

Ship said...

Pretty in Pink!

asstronaut said...

really, who can pick? st elmos, breakfast club & 16 candles all tie in my book.

and i really liked less than zero but im not including it bc RDJ mimics it in his earlier years :|

lutefisk said...

Sixteen Candles--You got to love the Donger & Farmer Ted. Next, The Breakfast Club, even if Judd Nelson looked 19 years older than the rest of the cast.

Sue Ellen Mishkey said...

Breakfast Club. I've seen that movie countless times and it has some of the most classic lines ever.

Anonymous said...

For Keeps, hands down. Made me rethink some decisions in high school, no doubt.

maggiemei said...

Breakfast Club all the way. i loved Judd Nelson from that.

I liked St, Elmo's fire too, but Demi Moore bugged me.

Impertinent Vixen said...

Definitely Pretty In Pink, though I couldn't stand Molly Ringworm. The excellent music makes up for her smirky eye-roling, as does the presence of Jon Cryer as Ducky and Andrew McCarthy and Annie Potts as the music store owner.

Blondie said...

weekend at bernie's.

"Hazy Shade of Winter" if we're talking songs from brat pack films, love it!

Elaine said...

Breakfast Club
St. Elmos' Fire
Sixteen Candles

merrick said...

does the outsiders count? if so .. that is my #1 .. if not, then breakfast club

SkittleKitty said...

Sixteen Candles
"If You Were Here" Thompson Twins--my favorite movie song....

Anonymous said...

Sixteen Candles. Then Breakfast Club. And what was the one where Molly Ringwald was pregnant and they lived in the awful apartment?

Mexi said...

Sixteen Candles and Pretty In Pink. So hard to choose just one!

Sis said...

Okay, how about a brat pack type film before the 1980's brat pack.

My pick would be Hollywood Knights!

The soundtrack of Valley Girl with a cute Nick Cage (before he got his teeth fixed), brings back memories!!

Lissa THEEE Pissa said...

I'm gonna have to go with the crowd-
The Breakfast Club

TV said...

breakfast club.

selenakyle said...

Weird Science.

Couldn't have given a hoot about the rest of them.

But Less Than Zero did keep me and probably a lot of others our age from going too far with the coke, so that's a good thing...

Casey said...

Some Kind of Wonderful.

jax said...

Breakfast Club
Sixteen Candles
Pretty in Pink

love it.

MISCH said...

I see Andrew McCarthy in the street, at Chelsea Market...with his kids...and yes he looks great....really great....

Brenda22 said...

Going with Pretty in Pink also...
I liked Can't Buy Me Love too, but I guess that doesn't count as "Brat Pack"

mooshki said...

16 Candles. I love all the others, but that feeling that no one knows you exist, then being noticed by your dream guy? Sigh... Plus, Long Duk Dong!!! And John & Joan Cusack!!!

I'm still heartbroken that "Drillbit Taylor" wasn't that good. John Hughes + my favorite actor? I was hoping it would be amazing. :'(

mrchgrl said...

I am definitely going to have to stick with the cool kids and vote "The Breakfast Club".

The whole brat pack thing was a tad before my time (I was BORN when it was raging!) but with the help of two incredibly young parents I pretty much grew up in the 80's anyway, so I was obsessed with 80's stuff growing up in the 90s!

I have probably seen Breakfast Club over 100 times!

stacers said...

Sixteen Candles

bramblewitch said...

Breakfast Club

Merlin D. Bear said...

I'm going to have to stretch it - never was a "brat pack" fan -
So, for me, "Steven King's Kingdom Hospital" with Andrew McCarthy, and "Stephen King's The Stand" with Molly Ringwald.
Both were superior miniseries, and are even better on DVD.

Anonymous said...

Funny, I don't remember the Cusacks in Sixteen Candles. I'm going to have to dig up a copy and watch, because normally I notice everything John C. is in because he makes me salivate. And another salivation-inducer was James Spader in Pretty in Pink.

To me the most memorable Joan Cusack role was in that movie with Jessica Lange (I think) called "Men Don't Leave" or something like that where she was some sort of psycho nurse having an affair with Jessica Lange's teenage son. I never laughed so hard.

selenakyle said...

Y'all aren't going to believe this..I was in HS in the early 80's and I NEVER saw 16 candles, PinP, or Bkfst Club. Never.

I opted for comedy (thus Weird Science) and action movies.

But McCarthy is aging very well.

Also loved Weekend at Bernies if that counts.

mooshki said...

Can we also list our favorite "not actually 'brat pack,' but might as well have been" movies?

"Fast Times At Ridgemont High" (been thinking about it ever since yesterday's Phoebe Cates pic) and "Can't Hardly Wait"

Get a Life said...

syko - joan cusack was the really tall girl with the huge retainer hanging out of her mouth and she was always drooling (laughing right now just thinking about it). John was one of the freshman (and he wasn't something to salivate for in Sixteen Candles).

mooshki said...

Syko, John Cusack was one of Anthony Michael Hall's geek friends (the ones he bet he could get into Molly's panties) and Joan was the girl at the drinking fountain with the head gear.

mooshki said...

For anyone not sure what exactly qualifies as "brat pack," here's Wikipedia's entry.

Lori said...

Honestly? All of them? I can recite Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles by heart, I have seen them so many times. But I also hold a soft spot for St. Elmo's Fire and Less than Zero because they are on less frequently. Other faves: Some Kind of Wonderful, Lucas (not nec. a brat pack, but a John Hughes, I think) and About Last Night. And also Fast Times at Ridgemont High. So, so good! Makes me want to go home and rent all of them tonight.

Kara said...

breakfast club then 16 candles.

Robyn said...

I would have to say Pretty In Pink for my numero uno, but Breakfast Club a good second..

I do have to add, while never see the movie, Less Than Zero the book was awesome

Wack said...

st. elmo's fire and sixteen candles.

i've never seen any other of the movies. before my time.

Dijea said...

Sixteen Candles would be my favorite. I like Pretty in Pink for James Spader. Breakfast Club was good too.

Nichole Fisher said...

breakfast club

Anonymous said...

OK, thanks, y'all, I definitely remember Joan now, and the other geeks with AMH were not that noticeable.

I adored Fast Times at Ridgmont High too. Also along about that time there was a movie with nobody in it that you ever heard of, called "Young Doctors in Love", that never fails to crack me up totally.

irishstayc2 said...

Gotta be 16 candles

but Breakfast Club did have some great lines...

"Can you describe the ruckus?"

"Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns"

HEE!

Unknown said...

16 Candles - Hands down!

It's why my screen name is ILoveJakeRyan on another site :-)

I've been looking for him all of my life.

And Selena Kyle - send me your address. I'll copy all of those movies and send them to you myself!!

Get a Life said...

Does anyone know the punchline to the joke that Bender was saying before he fell through the ceiling?

Cheryl said...

James Spader was HOT in Pretty in Pink. I started high school in 1980 and graduated from college in 1988 so I saw all these movies in the theater with my allowance money.

While I loved the John Hughes movies I also enjoyed the rich druggie yuppie movies of the era like Less than Zero and Bright Lights big City. Special mention goes to Robert Downey Jr.'s wardrobe in Weird Science and Kevin Bacon's raised collar/skinny tie in Footloose.

Cheryl said...

....and ANYTHING with John Cusack in it. Better Off Dead is one of the funniest movies of the 80's.

Molly said...

get a life - i read in an interview some years ago that there was no punchline. judd said he made that joke up as they were trying to rework the scene.

Abaddon said...

Everybody keeps including John Cusack. So, if he is a brat packer, then I gotta include Say Anything. Lloyd Dobbler rules!!!

GladysKravitz said...

16 candles.
Breakfast Club (first time I saw my own angst onscreen)

Anonymous said...

Syko, For Keeps is the pregnant movie.

Ms Cool said...

I don't know if all of these count:

Breakfast Club
16 Candles
Ferris Bueller
Say Anything
Footloose

West End Girl said...

The Breakfast Club always. I've converted so many people into fans it's silly.

Plus Judd Nelson, hello???

Special MOM said...

of the true brat pack films it has to be 15 candles - the jokes in that movie are just too good.

If we are stretching it for John Cusack - The Sure thing and Better off Dead were sooo good. "I want my 2 dollars!".

And I will always watch the outsiders even though I think it is pre- brat pack. All the hotties were in that one...

Special MOM said...

oops I meant 16 candles!

mooshki said...

twooooooo dollllllllarrrrrrrssssss...

Anonymous said...

I really loved Ferris Bueller too, but the stodgy middle aged man that Matthew Broderick has turned into has just about ruined it for me, I can't watch it with the same eyes.

And someone mentioned Weekend at Bernies - loved that!

Anonymous said...

Sixteen Candles - every time I watch I have a new favorite scene. I don't think there is a minute of wasted screentime in that move. Everything is hilarious.

At sixteen all I wanted was Jake Ryan and a great big birthday cake. That was THE pinnacle of wish fulfillment.

Now I want free petrol for life. Eh, we grow jaded . . .

Maja With a J said...

There used to be a band called "2 Months Bender" and on the cover of their EP was a picture of the headmaster giving the horns. I have no idea what they sounded like.

farmgirl said...

St Elmo's Fire - for pure brat pack

Say Anything - for the genre

bionic bunny! said...

i think i was too old to be really into the brat pack films, didn't even see all of them, but i'll take "16 candles".
and stretching it, hands down: weekend at bernie's, better off dead, one crazy summer (okay, the last two are savage steve holland, not john hughes, but i guess john cusack counts, right?)!

nunaurbiz said...

Here's the Wikipedia list of BP films:
The Outsiders (1983)
Class (1983)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Oxford Blues (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Blue City (1986)
About Last Night... (1986)
Wisdom (1986)
Fresh Horses (1988)
Betsy's Wedding (1990)

Of this list, my faves are No. 1 St. Elmo's Fire and No. 2 Sixteen Candles.

I absolutely LOATHE Betsy's Wedding!!! Ringwald is sooo pretentious in that. I don't even remember Wisdom (?). Fresh Horses, well, that's got our Andrew in it, so that was a good one, too. Loved Class, too. Now that I'm older, I can see it from Bisset's view and Andy still looks good!!!!!

^..^

captivagrl said...

i'm going to stretch a little:
St. Elmo's Fire
Fast Times....
Billionaire Boy's Club

jax said...

"Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?"

Christine Marie said...

I have to say:

1) Sixteen Candles - still laugh every single time I see it.
"The donger needs food"

2)I don't think that the Lost Boys count as Brat Pack, but I'm saying it anyway as Kiefer was friends with the usual Brat Pack gang. I just don't think he was considered part of it though.

3) The Outsiders - Rob Lowe & Estevez were in it, so it counts.

Christine Marie said...

All of the above comments are making me long for my carefree youth. You guys are bringing up movies that pretty much defined our teenage years. Great memories.

I forgot to mention one other that is actually Post Brat Pack

Young Guns!

Might not count - but I just wanted to throw that out there.

BlahFrickinBlah said...

I have all of these films in my DVD arsenal. I watched Less Than Zero not too long ago and have seen BC, SC and PIP in the past six months. I do have to say that I love St. Elmo's Fire. I haven't seen that one in a long time. It was more grown up and generally fucked up as a whole. Gotta love that drama.

Why don't they make great flicks like these anymore? God I sound old.

Miss X said...

16 Candles
Breakfast Club

And I loved For Keeps, though it isn't on the Wiki List

Jeff said...

a friend and I were on a trip to Prague when she asked, "what do we do now?"

I answered, "you load up, you party."

it was our mantra for the rest of the vacation. we laughed so hard every time we had a chance to insert it into conversation....

Kelli said...

Oh, christine marie, I agree with you- they defined my teen yrs.

16 candles is def my favorite. I have to watch it whenever it's on.

obitguy said...

Say Anything: Great ending

Ferris Bueller: Funny every time you watch it

Breakfast Club: stopped liking it after those terrible Target or JC Penny commercials based on the movie

blankprincess said...

OOOH--Sixteen Candles has always been in my top five favorite movies ever.

I also love Better off Dead. Both of them are hilarious, and like Ace Tomato said, there is no wasted screen time in either of those. I still find something new to love every time I watch these flicks (and I have seen Sixteen Candles probably around 250 times). Yes, I know.

But, I propose that those of you who like Pretty in Pink give Some Kind of Wonderful a try. Although John Hughes did not direct it, he wrote it, and he always said that he gave it the ending that Pretty in Pink "should" have had (i.e., the protagonist ends up with his Duckie). Plus, Eric Stoltz = dreamy. The scene where Watts cons Keith into letting her teach him how to kiss is SOOOO hot and sexy and sweet, but in an innocent way. Ahh, young love.

PotPourri said...

It will always be Pretty In Pink for me, with Andrew. I am so pleased that he is still gorgeous, like Rob Lowe. Although, Andrew is not jaded like Rob Lowe.

Unknown said...

coming out of lurkerdom to second blankprincess's comments about some kind of wonderful. the *best* john hughes film, bar none. the keith/watts learn-to-kiss scene is so bittersweet, duncan the skinhead is adorkable and the ending is just dreamy. i wanted to BE watts when i was 15, right down to the learning to play drums and cut-off fringed red leather gloves. i just didn't have a keith. :(

close second is ferris bueller's day off. every time i see it, i want to reach through the screen and hug poor cameron. i think i've seen that film close to 100 times, no joke, and can practically recite it by heart. i even turned it into a word-for-word, scene-for-scene harry potter fan fic (harry potter's day off), i'm that obsessed with the film!

blankprincess said...

Aw, arachne (one of the best Latin metamorphoses ever!), thanks for seconding me! I don't post all that often, but it's nice to see someone else creeping out of lurkerdom. :) And don't we all wish we had a Keith of our own?

Unknown said...

Less then Zero and Pretty in Pink.

My love for Andrew McCarthy is eternal.

Leslie said...

The Wild Life (Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn) for non-Hughes; Some Kind of Wonderful for John Hughes.

WriterMommy said...

Breakfast Club

bionic bunny! said...

"ferris bueller, you're my heero"
love it!
anybody remember "only you" with andrew mc carthy and helen hunt?
for some reason we love that movie, in spite of kelly preston (actually she may be playing to type in that one, lol!).
i'm glad he looks amazing, too, and seems to be a decent guy.

Jeannies Bottle said...

ST. ELMO'S FIRE

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