Brilliant and touching

A lot of fun.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Going into this film, I expected something just as witty, engaging and entertaining at the Breakfast Club, which nearly all the leading actors and actresses starred in. However, after watching this film, I was left feeling completely empty and a bit strange.While this film has its flaws, it has many things that help it shine. We have realistic stories with real, fleshed out characters. We understand these characters' motives and what drives them. We can relate to the core messages of most of their plots which help us empathize with them.However, this movie is like a sitcom without and punchlines. There is this aura of that this should have been a television series. This film sets up the story so well, but about half way through, it all falls a part. Everything ends up being wrapped into a nice little bow and everything seems to be perfect again. The struggles our characters face don't seem to really matter, because a big bandaid is placed over everything. The climax of the film is a huge letdown, with no major event really pushing the characters.Emilo Estevez probably has the best storyline of the film, with Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy coming in on a close second. Demi Moore's story line is a very strong one, but ends up falling apart with no real resolution. Everything else the characters go through doesn't seem to really matter. While we do become invested in the stories, they are shallow and lackluster.Overall, it is a good film and it's great to see these actors work so well together. However, the back half of the film falling apart severely prevents this movie from standing up as tall as it should be able to.

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.

There are collections of despicable characters, and then there's St. Elmo's Fire.Kirby (Emilio Estevez): "She is the only evidence of God I have seen with the exception of the mysterious force that removes one sock from the dryer every time I do my laundry." This guy spent a majority of the movie stalking and attempting to sexually assault someone that smiled at him in college. A truly problematic personality that often tends towards illegal activity which is odd since his career aspirations seemed to be in law. I LOVED his Woody Allen paraphernalia all over his apartment, though.Billy (Rob Lowe): "So you lost your job? I've lost twenty of them since graduation. Plus a wife and kid. And, in a new development this morning, a handful of hair in the shower drain." This guy was a real peach. He practically abandoned his wife and child yet wouldn't grant her the divorce she wanted because he was intent on changing, yet, with no steps or methods to do so. Forcing someone to stay legally bound to you is pretty much as low as it gets.Kevin (Andrew McCarthy): "Love, love is an illusion created by lawyer types like yourself to perpetuate another illusion called marriage to create the reality of divorce and then the illusionary need for divorce lawyers." I actually quite enjoyed this character through most the film. Kevin was constantly spouting philosophical views on life and love that were unpopular amongst his friends but taken for what he is. I'm the Kevin in my social circles, that brings Hegel up in casual conversation but never gets to enjoy the level of acceptance his character does. When it is revealed, however, that Kevin isn't speaking from an ascribed philosophical method, but rather because he is brooding and entitled believing his friend to have gotten the girl that was for him, his entire persona is revealed to be a caricature.Alec (Judd Nelson): "Dinosaurs are obsolete. Marriage is still around." This guy was especially infuriating. I've been involved in politics since I was 16, you can't just switch parties because one pays more. I've tried this, no one trusts you since you've been working for the other party so long, plus all your contacts are within that party. Aside from that, this guy repeatedly cheated on his girlfriend because she refused to marry him; I'm sure those two facts were unrelated, though.Jules (Demi Moore): "I don't know why you're both so worried... So, I bop him for a couple of years, get his job when he gets his hands caught in the vault, do a black mink ad, retire in utter disgrace, then write a best seller and be a fabulous host on my own talk show..." Yeah, this is your typical person that everyone knows at least one of that wants to make a lot of money and spend even more money but not work. At one point in the film, she had taken over a month's worth of advancement on her pay to "pinkify" her apartment and buy a lot of clothes. She also used her sexuality to advance her position whenever she could. The film could have made some statement about what she was trying to fill by spending money so irresponsibly but when her arc did reach its climax she was more upset to not have her material possessions anymore, rather than revealing why she felt as though she needed them in the first place. Oh, she also used the adage "you're gay and I know someone that's gay so you two will be perfect for each other" and I just can't adequately describe how much I detest that.Leslie (Ally Sheedy): "Men... Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em." Despite that glowing outlook on a certain subset of the population, this was one of the easier characters to tolerate. Her character almost solely existed as someone else's counterpart which is more than frustrating but that problem rests on the filmmaker than the character. I mean, did she ever talk about anything other than Alec? Barely.Wendy (Mare Winningham): Again, one of the more likable characters which is truly fortunate as I needed some glimmer of something to hang onto in an otherwise dreadful film. Wendy was expected to live at home until she was married which led to her father practically auctioning off the rest of her life to potential suitors. Again, her character arc centered around a man so this will never be considered a feminist film, but Wendy's is one that you can almost feel a bit of sympathy towards.Again, a film doesn't require likable characters, as long as the film own that they're terrible people. It's when a film is asking me to sympathize with characters with no redeeming qualities that problems ensue.

I once asked my gay friend why this movie spoke so much to the homosexual community. His response was that it was unapologetically 80's crass mixed with colorful disasters. Apparently he's spent his whole life living down day-glo characters like Jules, neighbor Ron, or Hollywood from "Mannequinn."So here you have some straight out of college friends, who use to congregate at a local bar and wax about life, love and the pursuit of adulthood. A lot of this, when scratch below the surface is pretty appropriate today as it was in the 80's. A lot of people who were "promised" one thing but given another. A lot of overspending. A lot of poor relationship choices, psycho love forlorn stalking, and love unrequited. Friends banging other friend's girls. And a carousel of other oddities that come with an age group that is often times overlooked. Much like I am closer to my 40's now. No one cares. Not only that no one cares, you should stop whining. And I believe this may turn a lot of people off to these characters. They're self-absorbed entitled jerks. Surprisingly with a Georgetown education. They haven't made much of themselves, but as young and inexperience, there is also the changing tides as they venture into the world. What the world offers them, they aren't prepared for. It's harsh. And they have to find a way to cope. Not to give anything away (as it is from '87). One gets the feeling that when Rob Lowe gets to NY, he will likely be robbed, raped and left for dead. Probably with his saxophone jammed up his rear. That is the reality of life.