St Elmo’s Fire is an angsty post-college drama about 7 close college friends, and their forays into the adult world with varying degrees of success. This film is co-written and directed by the late Joel Schumacher and is a great one to put into a time capsule – it’s held up very well.
Centered around their favorite college bar, St. Elmo’s, this movie is chock-full of brat-pack stars such as Emilio Estevez as Kirbo, Andrew McCarthy as Kevin, Demi Moore as Jules, Judd Nelson as Alec, Ally Sheedy as Leslie, Mare Winningham as Wendy, and Rob Lowe as the scampish, yet loveable Billy. Add in a great supporting cast, and you have a very entertaining 110 minutes.
From untamable bad boy Billy to poor little rich girl Jules, the film deals with various stereotypes across the board, and their, sometimes a little too needy, interactions in each other’s lives. The plotline weaves through their different existences with a touch of realism, and more than a hint of sarcasm and wit.
The subplots are intriguing – starting with seemingly upstanding Alec, who wants to marry his college sweetheart Leslie. They live together, but it’s not all as pretty as it seems on the surface. Apparently, Alec has some really bad habits, the worst of those being sleeping with other women, or as he puts it, “countless, faceless many.” Leslie appears clueless, until she reveals she knows all later in the movie. This is where the plot twists get a little sketchy. Leslie immediately sleeps with Kevin, a close friend to the couple who has secretly been in love with her for years. It kind of unravels from there.
Jules, the party girl with more than a few less than savory practices of her own, reels from drama to drama in a drug filled haze. However, Demi Moore manages to humanize her, and actually make us care whether her “step monster” dies or not. Kirbo is in love with a much older doctor Dale Bieberman, played by Andie McDowell, but she is very clearly out of his league. He is almost stalkerish in his pursuit of the clearly uninterested doctor.
I never really got the pairing of wild man Billy with virginal Wendy. I get that she’s in love with him, and has been for years, however, he’s a married man with a child. I know he doesn’t act like it whatsoever, but that detail is something she knows. Opposites attract? That one never worked for me.
That being said, I will admit I truly love this movie. I will also admit I watch it mainly for hunky Rob Lowe, who I’ve had a crush on since I was young. It resonated with me on many levels, and still does even 35 years later. Despite the often skewed storylines, the performances under Joel Schumacher’s intelligent direction are spirited and on-the-mark. And special kudos to the technical department, for using appropriately the idyllic photography of autumnal Georgetown, lending the appropriate collegiate glow.
Tami Danielson is the main in-house blogger and Director of Operations for Pop-Daze. She was raised in California and Florida and currently resides in Oregon. Tami has written for a variety of periodicals and has provided digital marketing services for a number of artists. She can be reached at [email protected]
