St. Elmo's Fire

Name: St. Elmo's Fire
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: June 28, 1985
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 35
Cast: Ally Sheedy, Andie MacDowell, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez

1985

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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St. Elmo's Fire

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: June 28, 1985 | TV-14

Starring: Ally Sheedy, Andie MacDowell, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Joyce Van Patten, Judd Nelson, Mare Winningham, Martin Balsam, Rob Lowe

Summary: The film that defined the "Brat Pack". A group of recent Georgetown grads in the Washington DC area struggles to get on with their lives and with each other.

Director: Joel Schumacher

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Christopher Monfette

Well written, well made, well acted, St. Elmo's Fire is a quintessential film about the strange middleground between youth and adulthood. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Deep, it's not. But it is glossy, funny and well-performed. And like other ensemble movies, it's stronger on character than plot as it shifts from relationship to relationship to draw a picture of the whole. [28 June 1985, p.27]

Staff (Not Credited)

Despite the often skewed story, performances under Joel Schumacher's intelligent direction are spirited and on-the-mark, most notably that of Lowe as the caddish pretty boy and Moore as the frazzled coker. The other leads: Estevez, McCarthy, Sheedy, Winningham and Nelson all deserve plaudits for their credible contributions. Read full review

Paul Attanasio

St. Elmo's Fire is about people who go to lunch and feel nostalgic for breakfast. The latest kiddie angst movie, it's thin gruel for introspective whelps. Read full review

Dolores Barklay

There's very little plot in the movie, just an excursion through the growing pains of some very plastic characters. The script by Schumacher and Carl Kurlander is more a character outline than a screenplay because there simply isn't enough meat to flesh it out. [8 July 1985]

Dave Kehr

The screenplay for this 1985 feature is so riddled with character inconsistencies and unmotivated behavior that it plays like science fiction: the unsuspected presence of body-snatching aliens is the only conceivable explanation for the bizarre twists of psychology the film proposes. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Estevez and Nelson are as unappealing here as in The Breakfast Club, though in fairness they're hampered by a script that seems to despise its characters. So, by the end, will you. Read full review

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User Reviews

timone

Apr 24, 2019

St. Elmo's Fire is what other people think of when they thought of 80's films such as The Breakfast Club and About Last Night which does have the same cast in between. It had a fantastic soundtrack and it is great. The song that I love from it is "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" by JohnSt. Elmo's Fire is what other people think of when they thought of 80's films such as The Breakfast Club and About Last Night which does have the same cast in between. It had a fantastic soundtrack and it is great. The song that I love from it is "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" by John Parr and the theme from David Foster who also composed the music for the film. I listened to many of his stuff cause I'm a huge fan of his music, they're so beautiful. The story, how can I explain? It's honestly weird to describe because the story of the main characters, they all have their passion that burns deep into the hole. Here's what I mean: A group of recent Georgetown graduates in the Washington DC area struggles to get on with their lives and with each other. The Brat Pack actors, Emilio Estevez as Kirby Keager who is a law student and waiter at St. Elmo's Bar and he has an obsession with a medical student named Dale played by Andie MacDowell. Rob Lowe as Billy Hicks who is a saxophonist as in "frat boy" and reluctant husband and father. Andrew McCarthy as Kevin Dolenz who is a writer for The Washington Post with a sullen streak, and Kirby's roommate. Demi Moore as Jules who is an international banker and the "party girl" of the group. Her character is high and is addicted to coke. Demi also worked with Rob Lowe in the 80's teen comedy drama, About Last Night. Judd Nelson as Alec who is a yuppie pursuing his career in politics and he is in love with Leslie Hunter. Judd had previously played a cocky arse****, Bender in The Breakfast Club and everybody loved him. Speaking of that, Ally Sheedy as Leslie Hunter who is a budding architect who is reluctant to marry Alec. Ally had also previously worked with Emilio Estevez and Judd Nelson. And then we have Mare Winningham as Wendy who is a clerk from a wealthy family and devoted to helping others. When I heard of St. Elmo's Fire, I was looking at the rating at Rotten Tomatoes and it had a bad rating to mixed by critics so I figured I don't think I'm in for it. But thinking about it, I was like "Okay, that might be worth a look to watch." Because I'm a huge fan of 80's songs and films. Now that I've watched it, I said "And that's St. Elmo's Fire." and honestly, I don't think it deserved the hate that it gets. There's definitely more going for this like the soundtrack by David Foster is wonderful and the film itself is something that I can watch again. However, what keeps it away from being a definitive coming-of-age film is that the story is forgettable where the audience including myself don't know what was going on and can't even get it in your head all the way through and characters that, well, you're kinda grown into them, aren't as well structured as some of the Brat Pack's best but even if people love the film or hate it, they'll make up their minds. Don't get me wrong though, St. Elmo's Fire is still a really good that's worth watching. It's just not as good as the films that came out before and after. But like I said, it had an amazing soundtrack that I will enjoy listening to forever. It's a film that will keep everyone interested as always even if they are a fan of Joel Schumacher and it is worth adding to the DVD collection.… Expand

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Austy_

Sep 28, 2020

It’s the lack of plot and awful characters for me. For the first ten minutes I was really excited but everyone digressed and turned into complete **** No one had redeeming qualities or arcs to redeem themselves. It starts fun, turns bad quick and doesn’t get better. It left me feeling weirdIt’s the lack of plot and awful characters for me. For the first ten minutes I was really excited but everyone digressed and turned into complete **** No one had redeeming qualities or arcs to redeem themselves. It starts fun, turns bad quick and doesn’t get better. It left me feeling weird and empty when it was over. I had a good time laughing at how ridiculous some scenarios were, but didn’t get much else out of it.… Expand

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