‘Brats' review round-up: Andrew McCarthy directs Brat Pack reunion filled with ‘1980s nostalgia'
‘Brats' review round-up: Andrew McCarthy directs Brat Pack reunion filled with ‘1980s nostalgia'
Everyone of a certain age has a core memory of the iconic "Brat Pack,” even those born after their heyday. But what about the group itself? On June 13, 2024, that is the question that Hulu's “Brats” asks as actor and director Andrew McCarthy interviews fellow Brat Packers Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Jon Cryer, Timothy Hutton and Lea Thompson.
Centering on 1980s films starring the “Brat Pack” and their profound impact on the young stars’ lives, “Brats” is certified fresh with a score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The term was notably coined by New York Magazine writer David Blum (it wasn’t a compliment), who was hoping to gain attention in the journalism world. And yes, he is confronted in the film. Read our full review round-up below.
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Nick Schager of The Daily Beast notes, "Filled with film clips and set to prominent tunes from the era, ‘Brats’ is McCarthy's first-person reckoning with his own rise-and-fall path, and it motivates him to reconnect with as many fellow Brat Packers as are willing to participate. Alas, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson are not, and no one even mentions Anthony Michael Hall, which comes across as something close to sacrilege. Nonetheless, the rest are game, beginning with Estevez, who says that he's spent years avoiding retrospective screenings of his '80s hits because the Brat Pack reputation so interfered with his ambition to become a celebrated actor/director along the lines of his father."
David Wangberg of Cinema Sentries writes, "Estevez opens up about his experience under that label, and how some films he did, such as Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of ‘The Outsiders,’ preceded the birth of the term but then got categorized under it after the fact. McCarthy travels to then meet up with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, who saw it as more of another family they were able to form in their youth. The films that carried that label with them often saw certain actors working together on more than one occasion, and they became a family in a sense. Others who were considered ‘Brat Pack adjacent’ include Jon Cryer and Lea Thompson, and they both give their takes on how they were semi-linked to the group with their appearances in movies such as ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘Some Kind of Wonderful,’ respectively."
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Valerie Complex of Deadline praises the film, stating, "The actor-director eventually confronts Blum about the New York article and his intentions. The journalist reflects on his writing, stating that he didn't anticipate its long-term effects. But he also has no regrets, and equates the experience to a 29-year-old man looking to build a career, and mistakes happen. McCarthy's skeptical response suggests unresolved feelings about this, but he is finally willing to let it all go."
Carla Hay of Culture Mix says, "As a documentary, ‘Brats’ offers an appealing blend of 1980s nostalgia, psychotherapy analysis, and pop culture commentary in this forthright look at how members of the so-called Brat Pack were affected by this label that they did not want." Adding, "In the case of Estevez, McCarthy says he hadn't seen Estevez since the ‘St. Elmo's Fire’ premiere in Los Angeles. McCarthy also says in the documentary (as he has in his 2021 memoir ‘Brat: An '80s Story’) that he and Lowe were very competitive with each other at the height of their Brat Pack fame. In the ‘Brats’ documentary, former rivals Lowe and McCarthy joke about how Lowe constantly meets Brat Pack fans who tell him they prefer McCarthy, while McCarthy constanly meets Brat Pack fans who tell him that they prefer Lowe."
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