Le Feu de Saint-Elmo

'St. Elmo's Fire' looks at life after college of seven best friends. Even though I didn't go to college in the 80s, the movie brought a lot of memories and I can still relate to many of the conflicts the characters experience. I don't understand why so many people disliked it. It's very much a character driven piece and while many argue that the they are self-absorbed but who isn't at least a little self-absorbed at that age? These characters are trying to find themselves in the 'new' real world of grown-ups. All seven friends are of distinct personalities and even though they are a little clichéd, they remain real and are well played. The friends include:

-Kirby (Emilio Estevez) who is so desperately 'in love' with a past love that he even changes himself to win her heart.

-Billy (Rob Lowe) who is talented, unstable and unpredictable -Kevin (Andrew McCarty) who is following a love that is with someone else.

-Jules (Demi Moore) who is the self-destructive flirtatious one striving to protect her outer image while she destroys herself internally.

-Alec (Judd Nelson) who is climbing the ladders of success and screwing 'nameless' and 'faceless' chicks while still desperate to marry his girlfriend to make his life perfect.

-Leslie (Ally Sheedy) is the girlfriend who wants to have a career of her own before settling down for marriage bliss.

-Wendy (Mare Winningham) who is the most selfless one, a frustrated virgin who is striving for independence and love.

The actors are brilliantly cast as they fit the parts physically (the right age and looks) and deliver sincere performances. I won't single anyone out as I thought they all did excellent. The supporting cast does not have much scope except for Andie McDowell (who is quite bad).

The 80s were known to be a wild and reckless decade for the young ones where it was all about rock and roll, big hair and felt-tips. Foster's soundtrack wonderfully adds to that nostalgic feel of that decade.

Through their lives, Schumacher presents different themes such as drugs, alcohol, sex, loyalty, etc. It sounds like just another one of 'those' movies but here it is dealt with in a very real and easily relatable way rather than being overdone. Everyone will recognize at least a couple of the conflicts the characters face. I loved the way it ended. There is no definitive conclusion. Instead, what is shown is that the characters are aware that now it is time to grow up and to build their own lives while an uncertain future awaits. It's a great movie.

Seven friends -- fresh out of college and in their mid-20's -- find themselves struggling with real-life issues such as breaking away from an over-bearing family, getting married, raising children, finding a career, finding love and creating an identity, all while trying to maintain a tight-knit friendship with one another as they booze it up at "St. Elmo's," a bar that perhaps served as the grandfather to the coffee shop in "Friends" or even the pub in "How I Met Your Mother." They laugh, they fight, they learn, and by the end of the flick, things have changed, but their "fire" has remained.

You might recognize three stars of "The Breakfast Club" -- Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez -- who have magically turned into college grads, and alongside Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe and Mare Winningham, round out the solid cast of "St. Elmo's Fire." A good decade before bringing a perfectly good "Batman" franchise to its knees, writer/director Joel Schumacher did what few films could do with the "Brat Pack" in tow. That is, he created a film that dared to be over-dramatic and dared to touch upon the ugliness of growing up long after the security of school and family has faded. While some characters and their stories are questionable (Emilio Estevez, I'm looking at you), the little stories that make up their day-to-day life are, for the most part, stuff that everyone goes through, and none of the actors seem ashamed to look ridiculous in portraying the selfish, the immature and the inexperienced. For the most part, the characters feel real, and that's why the film works as well as it does.

Perhaps it's a little too over-dramatic and self-indulgent for its own good, but maybe that's the point. All seven characters are colorful, albeit, horribly flawed human beings, and it shows in the most awkward and endearing moments of the film. You may not understand their decisions or why they choose to bring so much drama down on themselves, but you'll at least relate to it in one way or another. How you interpret and appreciate the film rests both in your position in life and whether or not you can recognize the biggest flaws in yourself. It's a film that will speak volumes to anyone fresh out of college, in their 20's or with the hindsight to realize how silly and self-made much of the drama in their life has been.

St. Elmo's fire has been on constant play on HBO lately. I turned it on the other night and watched the whole thing. Yeah, it was a nostalgia trip (I remember watching it a few times on cable ten years ago) but it also has some decent scenes and it really captures a "moment," both for recent college grads and for those of us who were enchanted by the brat pack in the 80s.

I've been reading other people's reviews; several of them whine about how "self-absorbed" these characters are.

Well...um... duh. Yeah. Most movies are about self-absorbed people. Self-absorbed people are more interesting, because they don't care what other people think: self absorbed people feel deeply, they make huge mistakes, and they're generally fun to watch. Some of the greatest movies of all time are about self-absorbed people: Annie Hall (Alvy Singer), Amadeus (Mozart), Leaving Las Vegas (Nic Cage), Goodfellas (Every single mobster in the movie). Mother Theresa was completely giving, completely SELFLESS, and yet I haven't seen a great movie about her. That's not the point.

I'm not saying St. Elmo's Fire is a classic. I'm just saying, calm down people. Take the movie for what it is, a stylized look into one moment in life, and don't be so preachy about what kinds of characters are "appropriate" to focus on.

St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

** (out of 4)

Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham are seven friends who graduate and soon realize that being adults isn't nearly as much fun as they thought. We follow their various ups and downs with much drama in between.

ST. ELMO'S FIRE has a rather amazing cast and especially when you look back on the picture. Not only do you have the seven main leads but there's also Martin Balsam and Andie MacDowell so there's no denying the star power. I've never really liked this picture yet for some reason I usually go back and revisit it ever so often. Obviously the main reason to watch the picture is because of the terrific cast and I thought all of them delivered great performances. It's just too bad they weren't given much to work with.

As I get older I think these characters are all the more shallow. Some might say they were people in their 20s so they were supposed to be annoying and shallow but I don't buy that at all. To me the characters are very poorly written here and there's just no real development with any of them. None of them are very believable and for the most part they are all single motivated characters with no development and there's not much charm to any of them. It's really too bad because the cast is excellent but they just didn't have anything here. You can watch any of these actors in much better films from this period.

The film remains watchable thanks to the cast but when the final credits come on you can't help but think you've just wasted your time. I mean, this cast ends up with these results? It's really a shame but there's more issues than just the screenplay. I'd argue that Joel Schumacher's direction is pretty bland and there's nothing good looking about the picture. You do get a great score and a catchy main song but none of this is enough to save the picture.

Seven friends are just out of college. Billy Hicks (Rob Lowe) is sax playing hard partying irresponsible mess with a baby. Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham) is a social worker from a wealthy family in love with Billy who keeps covering for him. Kirby Keger (Emilio Estevez) is studying the law and chasing older doctor Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell). Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson) is a political animal living with girlfriend Leslie Hunter (Ally Sheedy). They're the perfect couple of the group. Kevin Dolenz (Andrew McCarthy) is a writer and never in a relationship which leaves some speculating that he's gay. Then there is Jules (Demi Moore) who lives vastly beyond her means. Everybody hangs out at a local hangout called St. Elmo's Bar.

It's soapy. It's cheesy. It's a lot of white people problems. These are privileged self-obsessed characters trying to grow up. Certainly there is a lot of trash talked about of these actors. Besides the stigma of being called 'The Brat Pack', these are some of the best actors of their generation. The story is a jumble of melodrama. The preppy style is terribly dated but it remains a cultural milepost. Let's face it. A sweaty Rob Lowe playing the sax is cheesetastic.