Filmography
The Brat Pack films have been described as representative of "the socially apathetic, cynical, money-possessed and ideologically barren eighties generation." They made frequent use of adolescent archetypes, were often set in the suburbs surrounding Chicago, and focused on white, middle-class teenage angst. According to author Susannah Gora, these films "changed the way many young people looked at everything from class distinction to friendship, from love to sex and fashion to music." They are considered "among the most influential pop cultural contributions of their time."
Beyond the two primary films, there is no generally accepted list of "Brat Pack" movies. While Blum's article credits Taps, a 1981 sleeper starring Timothy Hutton with Cruise and Penn, as the first Brat Pack movie, the list of movies below represents the more traditional filmography, with each movie including at least two core members in starring roles:
| Movie | Actor | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emilio Estevez | Anthony Michael Hall | Rob Lowe | Andrew McCarthy | Demi Moore | Judd Nelson | Molly Ringwald | Ally Sheedy | Close contributors | |
| The Outsiders (1983) |
Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews | Sodapop Patrick Curtis | Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio | ||||||
| Class (1983) |
Franklin 'Skip' Burroughs IV | Jonathan Ogner | John Cusack | ||||||
| Sixteen Candles (1984) |
"Farmer Ted" (credited as "the Geek") | Samantha Baker | John Cusack, Jami Gertz | ||||||
| Oxford Blues (1984) |
Nick De Angelo | Rona | |||||||
| The Breakfast Club (1985) |
Andrew Clark | Brian Johnson | John Bender | Claire Standish | Allison Reynolds | ||||
| St. Elmo's Fire (1985) |
Kirby Keger | Billy Hicks | Kevin Dolenz | Julianna 'Jules' Van Patten | Alec Newbury | Leslie Hunter | Mare Winningham | ||
| Pretty in Pink (1986) |
Blane McDonnagh | Andie Walsh | Jon Cryer, James Spader | ||||||
| Blue City (1986) |
Billy Turner | Annie Rayford | |||||||
| About Last Night... (1986) |
Danny Martin | Debbie Sullivan | |||||||
| Wisdom (1986) |
John Wisdom | Karen Simmons | Charlie Sheen (uncredited cameo) | ||||||
| Fresh Horses (1988) |
Matt Larkin | Jewel | |||||||
| Hail Caesar (1994) |
Julius Caesar McMurty | Prisoner One | |||||||
Some films have been dubbed "Brat Pack movies" despite having no stars from the core membership, including 1984's Red Dawn (with close contributors C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, Harry Dean Stanton, Patrick Swayze, and Lea Thompson), and 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off (also with Grey and Sheen in supporting roles, and starring close contributor Matthew Broderick). Many would include 1985's Weird Science, starring Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall and close contributor Robert Downey, Jr., because it was directed by John Hughes and is included in a Universal Studios "Brat Pack" box set. Other 1980s films, many with similar coming-of-age themes, that starred only one core Brat Pack actor with one or more close contributors include:
- WarGames (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick
- Bad Boys (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Sean Penn
- No Small Affair (1984) with Demi Moore and Jon Cryer
- Heaven Help Us (1985) with Andrew McCarthy and Mary Stuart Masterson
- One Crazy Summer (1986) with Demi Moore and John Cusack
- Youngblood (1986) with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze
- The Pick-up Artist (1987) with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr.
- Less Than Zero (1987) with Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, and Jami Gertz
- Mannequin (1987) with Andrew McCarthy and James Spader
- Johnny Be Good (1988) with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr.
- Young Guns (1988) with Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland
- Kansas (1988) with Andrew McCarthy and Matt Dillon
- We're No Angels (1989) with Demi Moore and Sean Penn
- The Stand (1994) with Molly Ringwald and Rob Lowe
Read more about this topic: Brat Pack (actors)