Regardless of the critical drubbing it received, Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire was a box office success and is admired by lovers of the films that featured members of the "Brat Pack." Schumacher's ensemble film reunited Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, and Judd Nelson, who had previously starred as High Schoolers in John Hughes' 1985 classic, The Breakfast Club. This time they were post-college 20-somethings navigating life and love in Washington D.C.
While the film is pretty much well remembered by fans, it is not considered a great film amongst the careers of its main cast. Here are 10 solid films featuring members 0f St. Elmo's Fire.
Demi Moore: Mortal Thoughts (1991)
Demi Moore was, for a time, the most adventurous of the St. Elmo's Fire cast when choosing film projects. Her starring role in Alan Rudolph's quirky 1991 mystery thriller Mortal Thoughts brought the actress a deeper character unlike any she had previously played.
Moore played a murder suspect in the death of her best friend's abusive husband (Bruce Willis) and one other person. Critics took note of Moore's ability to dig deep and successfully portray an abused woman who becomes the unwilling participant in an even deeper world of violence.
Ally Sheedy: High Art (1998)
Ally Sheedy was a critical and commercial darling in the 1980s but fell off of Hollywood's radar (somewhat) during the 90s. Near the end of the decade that was so fruitful for independent cinema, Sheedy's career was reborn in Lisa Cholodenko's dark indie drama, High Art.
Sheedy played a drug-addicted photographer who falls in love with Radha Mitchell's company intern. The film was a success on the indie circuit and was nominated for multiple awards, with Ally Sheedy winning Best Actress at the 1999 Independent Spirit Awards.
Rob Lowe: Bad Influence (1990)
While his post 80s public life was going through a bit of controversy, Rob Lowe bounced back with the critically and commercially well-received 1990 thriller, Bad Influence. Lowe played a sinister stranger who befriends a meek James Spader, disrupting his professional and personal life.
Lowe showed a new side to his somewhat limited acting range by successfully bringing across a vicious and seductive villain. The film and the role opened up new doors for the actor, cinematically.
Judd Nelson: New Jack City (1991)
Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City was a big hit with audiences and even managed to impress most critics. A throwback to his father's gritty style of New York City filmmaking from the 1970s, Peebles' film is a tough and violent tale of two "New Jack" cops who are brought together to bring down a drug kingpin played by Wesley Snipes.
Ice-T was the main cop and Judd Nelson played his unwilling partner. Nelson received good reviews for his performance as the wisecracking maverick cop who didn't suffer fools.
Emilio Estevez: Mission Impossible (1996)
In 1996, Brian De Palma directed the first of what would be a franchise that continues to this very day, Mission Impossible. While many complained about the muddled screenplay, the film was an enormous financial success and received good notices from most critics.
Emilio Estevez had a small, uncredited role, but made a lasting impression as the wisecracking tech, Jack Harmon. In a film with a cast that boasts Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, and Jon Voight, Estevez's contribution was a standout.
Andrew McCarthy: Pretty In Pink (1986)
John Hughes owned the 1980s, as far as teen films went. One of his biggest successes was 1986's Pretty In Pink. This time Hughes only wrote and produced, while Howard Deutch would direct. The film starred Molly Ringwald as a girl from "the other side of the tracks" who falls in love with a rich kid played by Andrew McCarthy, while her best friend "Ducky" (Jon Cryer) falls for her.
While McCarthy has never been lauded for his acting, his presence in the film was well-received and he won the hearts of many a young woman who was a teen when the film was released.
Emilio Estevez: Young Guns II (1990)
Even better than 1989's Young Guns, Young Guns II again starred Estevez, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Keifer Sutherland as the serving members of Billy the Kid's outlaw gang. This time, the film added William L. Petersen as Pat Garrett and a fairly unknown actor named Viggo Mortensen as Jon Poe.
Estevez reprised his role as Billy the Kid with a bit of ambiguity. The film did well at the box office and has an extremely well-written screenplay from John Fusco.
Ally Sheedy: Bad Boys (1983)
Long before Michael Bay stole the title for his loud and annoying action/so-called comedy, director Rick Rosenthal made the potent teenage drama, 1983's Bad Boys.
Sean Penn starred as a troubled youth who has a street rival played by Esai Morales. While Penn is locked up in a youth detention center, he hears that Morales has assaulted his girlfriend, played by Ally Sheedy. When Morales is placed in the same detention center, tensions and danger run high. The film was a major critical success, with Sheedy receiving excellent notices from critics for her performance.
Emilio Estevez: The Breakfast Club (1985)
Considered the pinnacle of teen films from the 80s, The Breakfast Club is the film for which John Hughes will be best remembered. With this film, the writer/director showed his uncanny skill in being able to tap into the souls and minds of the modern teenager.
Emilio Estevez was part of the ensemble cast that were all praised for their performances and helped make this film a relatable classic that continues to endure.
Mare Winningham: Hatfields & McCoys (2012)
Mare Winningham is an actress that has always risen above the quality of her film choices. While St. Elmo's Fire was a hit and she was nominated for an Oscar for her work in 1995's Georgia, the actress spent a couple of decades doing good work in subpar films. Her career found an upswing in the 2000s when the actress began to get better roles in much better films.
Her best film to date is 2012's miniseries-film Hatfields & McCoys, where she played Sally McCoy, wife to Bill Paxton's Randall McCoy, head of the McCoy family that famously feuded with the Hatfields, led by their father "Devil" Anse Hatfield (Kevin Costner). The film was nominated for two Golden Globes and won multiple Emmys, including a Supporting Actress win for Winningham.