Andrew McCarthy Reexamines the Impact of the Brat Pack in ‘Brats’

The Parting Shot with H. Alan Scott

In the 1980s, a group of actors called the “Brat Pack” came to define a generation. Turns out, the term came from one sentence in a New York Magazine article. Now, 40 years later, one of those stars, Andrew McCarthy, is reevaluating the impact that description had in his new documentary Brats (on Hulu). “It just became the catchphrase.” In the film, McCarthy meets with fellow Brat Pack-ers like Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez—some for the first time since the ’80s—to find out why they took such offense to the moniker. All agree the article wouldn’t have the impact today it had back then. “As Malcolm Gladwell said in the movie, there is no unifying pop culture anymore.” And regarding the broad impact of the phrase, McCarthy is now able to see how the public views this crop of actors, with affection. “It took me a long time to realize that, until people came up to me on the street after so many decades. When they see me, they go, ‘Oh, my God. When I was a kid...’ I realized very quickly, they’re not talking to me anymore, they’re talking to their own youth.”

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