Andrew McCarthy discusses his new documentary "Brats," which reunites the Brat Pack for a nostalgic look at their '80s success.
In the 1980s, a group of young actors known as the Brat Pack dominated the silver screen with their青春-themed movies. Now, Andrew McCarthy, a member of the iconic group, reflects on the profound impact of their collective experience in his new documentary, "Brats."
"It was such a crazy thing when it first happened. We all hated it," McCarthy told Good Morning America, referring to the term "Brat Pack" coined by a journalist in 1985. "Who wants to be called a brat when you're a kid? Particularly when you're a kid and you think you are a brat, so you don't want to be called it, and you don't want to be a member of a pack and all that."
McCarthy emphasized that being part of the Brat Pack was a unique phenomenon. "It's followed me – every day I hear it," he said. "It's like a relationship in itself."
The public embraced the term, but the industry had a different reaction. "It had professional ramifications," McCarthy explained. "The public embraced us, but the business reacted to it in a negative way."
Despite their initial resistance, McCarthy said that over time, the term has become a symbol of their era. "It's become this wonderfully iconic, affectionate term, you know? And so I just want to see what everybody's relationship to it was."
McCarthy's documentary features interviews with several Brat Pack members, including Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, and Emilio Estevez. He said that it was a fulfilling experience to reconnect with his former co-stars.
"I thought it'd be great to go back and reconnect with the old gang. I hadn't seen most of them in about 30 years," McCarthy said. "It was such a seminal moment in all our lives and none of us had ever talked about it before, so I just thought it'd be good to sort of go see what everybody felt about it."
McCarthy said that the documentary process gave him a new perspective on the Brat Pack experience. "As you get old, you start to look back on your past in a different way and go, ‘You know, that was a beautiful thing.’"
The Brat Pack's legacy continues to resonate with fans, who often approach McCarthy with fond memories of their movies. "When fans come up to me on the street and start talking about Brat Pack movies, their eyes glaze over, and they say, "‘Oh! The Brat Pack,’ and they start talking, and I realize they're not even looking at me anymore," McCarthy said. "They're talking to themselves and their own youth, and I've become sort of the avatar of their youth and other members of the Brat Pack."
McCarthy's documentary "Brats" offers a nostalgic trip down memory lane for fans of the Brat Pack and provides a unique insight into the group's dynamics and lasting impact.
