St. Elmo's Fire

1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire is a timeless hit. Rocking theme song, awesome cast, and a radical plot makes this movie a great 80’s classic. I saw it in a movie theater while I was a private in the Army and remember my friend saying, “It’s the Breakfast Club all grown up”. That’s it in a nutshell. Most of the friends return (minus Molly Ringwald and the addition of  more super stars).

Brat pack returns include Judd Nelson as Alex Newbary, Emelio Estevez as Kirby Keegar and Ally Sheedy as Leslie Hunter. Defining actors include Rob Lowe (Class, Youngblood) as Billy Hicks, Andrew McCarthy (Class, Pretty In Pink, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernies, Less than Zero) as Kevin Dolenz, Demi Moore (One Crazy Summer) as Jules, Mare Winningham (Turner and Hooch) as Wendy Beamish, and Andy MacDowell (Sex, Lies and Videotape) as Dale Biberman.

Newbary, Keegar, Hunter, Hicks, Dolenz, Jules and Beamish are inseparable friends from Georgetown University. They’ve been tight for years and as realize their futures are right before them. All they have to do is seize the day. But there’s a problem, they refuse to grow up. They go to the same bar, (St. Elmo’s Fire) insist on sitting at their table, refuse to get jobs and those who do work, can’t seem to give up their drug habits they developed in college.

Through a series of ordeals that include arrests, suicide attempts, bad breakups, broken trust and fighting, the group realizes that not only do they need each other, they need to make the plunge into adulthood.

Great lines include, “The only way to lose weight in the thighs is amputation”, “Men, can’t live without ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em”, “I enjoy being afraid of Russia. It's a harmless fear, but it makes America feel better..” and much more.

St. Elmo’s Fire has a totally awesome soundtrack that helped define the 80’s. Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire and Man in Motion are awesome contributions to 80’s pop culture.  

St. Elmo’s Fire is rated R