Review of St. Elmo's Fire

Sort of like watching an old episode of "Dynasty"- you'll laugh, but at

all the wrong things, and remember how 'cool' you thought the film when

it first came out. It isn't, and the proof is in the pudding, however;

it's quite fun to watch Rob Lowe pretending to play the sax, and the

other folk with their hair and unfortunate wardrobe choices all swing

and sway in time. The plot is really just 'boys meet girls and they all

whine'- but it's kind of an interesting thing to see how rich and

entitled they all are, it somehow perfectly crystalizes the 80's in a

way. Some good performances, Mare Winningham and Ally Sheedy are the

best I think, or at least the most realistic. They guys all seem to be

playing at being cool, and in fact this film led to the birth of the

infamous "Brat Pack", a moniker that I'm sure they'd all like to forget.

Shot like a soap opera (witness Demi Moore weeping as the curtains

billow around her) and scored within an inch of it's breathless life,

this is just a monument to excess, proof that teen films ended up going

way too far. Sad really, but interesting and kind of fun at the same

time.