Parents' Guide to

Brats

Movie NR 2024 93 minutes
Brats movie poster: Actors in a car in St. Elmo's Fire.

Common Sense Media Review

Jennifer Green By Jennifer Green , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Docu about famous '80s actors; language, substance use.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 14+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 13+

The negative power of a label

It explains why a "label", that was given to a large group of up and coming young actors/ actresses, suddenly quit working or spending time with each other. There is discussions about how it effected them mentally and their careers in very negative ways. A few of the wealthier persons didn't seem to upset but others, clearly, still had issues with it after all these years. The press whould not have so much power and should be held responsible for how damaging their work can be.
age 14+

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Gen-X, this movie's for you. Brats is a walk down memory lane, populated by the now 50- and 60-something actors who starred in a body of youth-oriented movies in the 1980s that changed the trajectory of Hollywood. In fact, that might be the most interesting insight of this film, for those who hadn't previously given consideration to the idea that movies like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire, among many others of the era, were responsible for showing Hollywood the size and value of the teen market. McCarthy does talk about other broader social implications of the "Brat Pack" with a range of interesting sources, but his real motivation is much more personal. This is really his walk down memory lane.

Seemingly crushed by the weight of the 1985 "Brat Pack" label, McCarthy uses the film to work through his own feelings about the past. There's a 12-step feeling to this process, with the cameras following him closely, listening to his personal musings as he travels between visits as well as to his interviews. His old peers, most of whom he hasn't seen in 30 years, agree that the label undermined their professional profiles, though none seem to have been as affected as McCarthy. (Curiously, if you read the original article, available online, McCarthy is barely mentioned.) As a director here, his one-track focus on the past means he misses an opportunity to delve more into what the lives of these icons are like in the present. What has the Breakfast Club been doing for the last 30 years? The interviews and outtakes offer glimpses, but this film's audience of Gen X peers would have eaten up more.

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