Brats (2024)

Being a child of the '80s, I found myself really invested in this documentary. It's a fly on the wall journey, following actor Andrew McCarthy attempting to reunite with his old colleagues after thirty-some years. It opens up about their uncomfortable relationship with the term "brat pack" (coined in 1985 as a play on "rat pack") which stigmatized many of their careers (although Rob Lowe and Demi Moore escaped relatively unscathed). As an outsider who missed that phenomenon by a few years, I never looked down on the brat pack label. In fact, I purposely sought out all of those films. And after having watched this, I want to go back and see them all again. The 1980s are like comfort food to me. I kind of wish it had been a reunion for all of them, rather than just Andrew's story, but there is some catharsis in following that personal journey. Sad that Molly Ringwald declined and Judd Nelson didn't end up being a part of it, since he seemed to be the one who was most affected by it in older interviews.

3 scathing articles out of 5

LITTLE SISTER [2016]

The daddy in director Zach Clark's quirky drama Little Sister isn't really all that big but the film still finds itself going down some dark corridors nonetheless.
A young nun readies to take her final vows but takes a sudden trip back home when her newly disfigured older brother returns from the Iraqi war.
The family is riddled with mild dysfunction, especially Ally Sheedy who seems to be playing it like Allison Reynolds over 20 years later, and she does a wonderful scene-stealing job at it.  By opening the film with a Marilyn Manson quote you know it's not going to be your average dysfunctional family drama and that's fine because there's plenty to laugh at no matter how dark the subject matter might be.  There's a bit much tossed in the background in an attempt to make important statements but thankfully it never gets overly sentimental and that's where it's greatest strength lies.

3 trippy family Hallowen parties out of 5

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Five kids with nothing in common other than being in Saturday detention do their best to remain sane. This is 80's gold. The jock, the jerk, the dork, the little rich girl and the weird quiet klepto are the stock types given, but the depth of character raises the bar. If you’re lucky enough to have caught it during your mid-teens it can stay with you forever. Classic stuff.

4 lets party in the library of 5