As the best 1980s movies took root and changed the pop culture landscape forever, so did the infamous Brat Pack. The notorious nickname took off and changed the lives of all the young stars who were included on the list in dynamically different ways (Ally Sheedy's still surprised by her Brat Pack status). Molly Ringwald, one of the most notable female members, weighed in on the unsuspecting status and shared a bit of the backstory of the whole series of events while at a Breakfast Club reunion event.
While at Orlando MegaCon for a Breakfast Club reunion panel (Via People), Ringwald weighed in with her feelings about the infamous 80s moniker. She shared that a journalist coined the term and it altered all of the young performers' careers drastically. She also noted, that she personally felt that it reduced what the group of peers was bringing to the world then, saying:
It was a play on the Rat Pack, which was a group of, you know — Sinatra and Sammy Junior, those guys — and it was a term that was coined after this New York Magazine piece, and then we all sort of fell under this, this banner. And I think it kind of in a way sort of minimized the work that we were doing. I mean that's the way that I felt.
It’s not surprising that the group of rising stars never lived a name like that down, words are mightier than the sword when written well. And since it’s a play on words, a nod to a monumental American group of artists, and New York Magazine published it, their fates were sealed (whether they liked it or not). The author David Blum intended no ill-will with the phrase Brat Pack, but was interpreted otherwise. It’s a shame that it arrived so early on in their careers and they felt limited and reduced by the piece’s coined term ripple effect.
More insight into the whole ordeal was addressed in the Hulu subscription documentary, Brats, which premiered last year. The film dove into the 1985 Blum article origins and the inevitable life-altering aftermath. The film does reveal plenty of common misconceptions of the Brat Pack, including how the turbulent term came to be.
As the years go by, and the lifelong bonded group continues to process life post the 1985 article, some members of the Brat Pack are trying to get a reunion together. As a fan of many of the most notable titles, St. Elmo’s Fire, Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink among others, I’d love nothing more than to see some of those Hollywood big hitters come together on anything. It seems that many have come to terms with that part of their life, and if Andrew McCarthy's change of heart for Pretty in Pink is a sign of it, my hopes are relatively high.
Whatever’s in store for Molly Ringwald and the Brat Pack, I hope they continue to move through past feelings and know they are as noteworthy as the Rat Pack.
