How To Watch The Brat Pack Movies In Order

One of the prolific young actor ensembles in Hollywood in the 1980s was the Brat Pack. A label coined by journalist David Blum in 1985, the Brat Pack was a play on the term, the Rat Pack, led by Frank Sinatra in the ’60s. The core group consisted of Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Andrew McCarthy. By Blum’s definition, the Brat Pack was composed of the main young actors in the two successful 1985 movies “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.”

The actors in the Brat Pack would appear together in a number of films throughout the ’80s and early ’90s, including projects before 1985. For the purposes of this article, an official Brat Pack movie needs to feature at least two actors from the previously mentioned ensemble, rather than simply just one. With 12 movies from the ’80s and early ’90s matching this criteria, here is how to watch the Brat Pack movies in both release and thematic order.

The Brat Pack’s cinematic association stretches as far back as 1983, with both “The Outsiders” and “Class” featuring multiple members. This run would continue until 1990, with the release of the last officially recognized Brat Pack movie, “Betsy’s Wedding.” The thing about these films is that they’re all standalone stories, with each movie featuring entirely new characters and premises, despite the recurring actors. There are no direct sequels or spin-offs linking these movies, just the familiar faces that make up the popular ’80s ensemble.

With that in mind, one could simply watch all the Brat Pack movies in release order without worrying about missing story elements, because an overarching narrative doesn’t exist. These movies were intended to be enjoyed individually, at least from a storytelling standpoint. Here are the Brat Pack movies in release order:

• “The Outsiders”

• “Class”

• “Sixteen Candles”

• “Oxford Blues”

• “The Breakfast Club”

• “St. Elmo’s Fire”

• “Pretty in Pink”

• “Blue City”

• “About Last Night…”

• “Wisdom”

• “Fresh Horses”

• “Betsy’s Wedding”

Even though there isn’t an underlying story or recurring characters in the Brat Pack movies, there is a thematic thread linking most of them. These movies revolve around teenagers and/or young adults, often living in modern suburbia, facing coming-of-age challenges. Though most of the movies featuring this ensemble are dramedies and teen comedies, there are a handful of outlier genres represented. With these circumstances in mind, there is an informal thematic order for the Brat Pack movies to watch and appreciate.

The more against-type Brat Pack movies bookend the thematic viewing order, placed by the age of their respective main characters. From there, the high school Brat Pack movies come into the viewing order, placed by characters’ ages and the types of challenges they’re facing in a given story. After this, the Brat Pack movies focusing on life in college and as working professionals in their 20s form the remainder of the viewing order. What follows below are all 12 Brat Pack movies, mentioned in the order in which they should be watched thematically.

“The Outsiders,” a film based on S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel of the same name, is the first official Brat Pack movie and the only one that is a period piece. Set in 1965, Darry (Patrick Swayze) raises his two younger brothers Soda (Rob Lowe) and Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) in Tulsa. The town’s youth revolves around two local gangs, with the brothers falling in with the working-class greasers. This feud escalates to intense fighting as Ponyboy and his friends try to find their way in a rough-and-tumble world.

“The Outsiders” epitomizes the ’50s and ’60s greaser culture revisited by “The Lords of Flatbush” and “Happy Days” in its own way. So many actors who went on to have prolific Hollywood careers got their start with this movie, including Brat Pack members Lowe and Emilio Estevez. Ponyboy and his friends are still in their early days in high school, making them among the Brat Pack’s youngest main characters. A classic coming-of-age story under more violent and hardscrabble circumstances than most of the Brat Pack’s subsequent projects, “The Outsiders” shows the ensemble tackling more grounded work.

Though filmmaker John Hughes reportedly hated the Brat Pack term, he created some of the ensemble’s most celebrated films. This includes 1985’s “The Breakfast Club,” which centers on five high schoolers serving Saturday detention together. While under their vice principal’s watchful eye, the five disparate classmates learn how similar they are, despite coming from different social circles. Sharing each of their respective existential crises, the group bonds as they contemplate their lives and the expectations facing them.

From Anthony Michael Hall’s vulnerable performance as overachiever Brian to Judd Nelson’s fiery performance as bad boy Bender, each character in “The Breakfast Club” is distinct and fully formed. The ensemble captures the hopes and anxieties of a generation in a movie that’s equal turns meditative and entertaining. With such a small cast and only a handful of locations, viewers can really see how well the Brat Pack gels together in what is arguably their best film. “The Breakfast Club” captures the Brat Pack facing deeper questions about themselves as they advance into high school, looking inward as they progress toward adulthood.

The movie that establishes the common Brat Pack movie formula and directorial debut for John Hughes, 1984’s “Sixteen Candles” is a coming-of-age masterpiece. Protagonist Sam Baker (Ringwald) celebrates her 16th birthday but feels overlooked by her family and high school classmates. As Sam pines for senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), she contends with the unwanted advances of freshman Ted (Hall). Noticing her interest in him, Jake finds himself wondering if Sam could provide a healthier and more fulfilling romance than his current vapid girlfriend.

“Sixteen Candles” is a modern Cinderella story, complete with a pivotal party and the ultimate young love wish fulfillment as the timid girl wins the love of the popular boy. Compared to “The Breakfast Club” veering into teenage existentialism, “Sixteen Candles” is about taking the plunge into that first serious romance. With her 16th birthday, Sam is quickly growing into the woman she’ll potentially be for the rest of her life while Jake is looking for something more than shallow love. The two characters grow up through each other, maturing through love and commitment together as the wilder high school antics are left behind.

While “Sixteen Candles” featured Ringwald playing a high schooler finding serious romance, 1986’s “Pretty in Pink” has her play a character ready to leave high school behind. As high school senior Duckie (Jon Cryer) secretly pines for his best friend Andie (Ringwald), she begins dating their popular classmate Blane (McCarthy). With prom rapidly looming, the trio try to reconcile their complicated and conflicting feelings for each other. This is heightened by Andie and Duckie coming from struggling working class families, while Blane and his friends grew up in wealthier households.

Though hastily rewritten to give the movie its Cinderella story payoff after test audiences didn’t enjoy the original ending, “Pretty in Pink” sticks the landing. “Pretty in Pink” is about the last gasp of high school, coming to terms about the relationships formed in that time as graduation approaches. Though the main cast would continue to play teenage characters in a handful of projects, “Pretty in Pink” does feel like a commencement of sorts for its core trio. The last Brat Pack movie written by Hughes, “Pretty in Pink” signals more mature work for the ensemble to come.

Released just four months after “The Outsiders,” 1983’s “Class” sees the Brat Pack venturing towards more sophomoric content. Following a group of affluent prep school seniors, Jonathan Ogner (Andrew McCarthy) and his roommate Skip Burroughs (Rob Lowe) prepare for college. After befriending Skip through a set of elaborate pranks, Jonathan finds love with an older woman named Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset). However, Jonathan eventually learns that Ellen is not only Skip’s mother but is still very much married.

Part teen comedy, part coming-of-age drama, “Class” is the most tonally inconsistent Brat Pack movie. Marking the first tentative steps to transition out of high school, “Class” is one of the more thematically mature Brat Pack movies, despite only being the second one produced. Though Lowe and McCarthy would play high school characters in a handful of subsequent projects, they were both visibly moving into young adulthood. “Class” is never quite sure how serious it wants to take itself or how much it’d rather embrace its salacious sense of humor, just like its characters.

Rob Lowe’s first cinematic lead actor role was in the 1984 sports dramedy “Oxford Blues,” playing lovestruck college student Nick De Angelo. After earning enough money to relocate to the United Kingdom, Nick enrolls in a constituent college of Oxford University, intent on winning the affection of Lady Victoria Wingate (Amanda Pays). To impress Victoria, Nick joins his college’s rowing team where he meets fellow American student Rona (Ally Sheedy). As Nick settles into life attending college in England, he learns what matters most in life and love.

Beyond its fish-out-of-water premise, “Oxford Blues” relies heavily on Lowe’s easygoing charm and natural chemistry with Sheedy. Whereas Lowe’s previous role in “Class” was about his character preparing for college, “Oxford Blues” gives him an older, more streetwise character who makes the transition. “Class” is about progressing beyond juvenile antics to progress towards adulthoo while “Oxford Blues” is about deciding how to proceed after reaching college. Nick may be worldly, but he still has growing up to do as he moves into a different culture and stage of his life.

After playing high school seniors in “Class” and “Pretty in Pink,” Andrew McCarthy plays a college senior in the 1988 drama “Fresh Horses.” He stars as Matt Larkin, who is preparing to graduate from college and marry his girlfriend Alice (Chiara Peacock). However, Matt’s life is completely turned upside-down when he meets Jewel (Ringwald), a married teenager looking for a way to escape her abusive life. Smitten, Matt devotes his time to Jewel, even as it becomes clear that she’s been manipulating him all along.

While McCarthy and Ringwald have always had strong chemistry together, they struggle to work with the more mature subject matter in “Fresh Horses.” Though featuring early roles for Ben Stiller and Viggo Mortensen, “Fresh Horses” never quite seems sure of the story it’s telling. The movie was produced in an era of the Brat Pack exploring more serious themes, often dealing with alienation surrounding expectations of the status quo. The ensemble’s other projects about post-collegiate life and steps into young adulthood would fare better, both commercially and critically.

In addition to starring, Emilio Estevez wrote and directed the 1986 crime movie “Wisdom,” joined by fellow Brat Pack member Demi Moore. Estevez plays John Wisdom, who is convicted of car theft shortly after leaving college and unable to find work. Joined by his girlfriend Karen (Moore), Wisdom decides to raid banks and erase loan records to help the impoverished. While becoming folk heroes, Wisdom and Karen are pursued by the FBI, trying their best to stay one step ahead of the law.

Estevez’s attempt to create a modern-day “Bonnie and Clyde” never quite gels, even with engaging performances from him and Moore. Though Estevez would find greater success playing other tough-guy misfits in “Repo Man” and “Young Guns,” “Wisdom” doesn’t deliver the same nuance or sympathy as his roles. In the wider Brat Pack filmography, “Wisdom” is a movie about lashing out when failing to find one’s path after college, opting to attempt to emulate Robin Hood. However, with its uneven execution and sullen protagonist, “Wisdom” just doesn’t hold itself together as a film that’s just as directionless as its hero.

By 1986’s “About Last Night…,” the Brat Pack, as an ensemble, moved past their usual high school acting fare. The romantic comedy, based on David Mamet’s 1974 play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” has 20-somethings Dan (Lowe) and Debbie (Moore) begin dating. This marks the first serious relationship for either of them, with them learning to grow and live together, as their friends face their own romantic hangups. As the couple faces unfamiliar challenges, their love is tested as they decide if they want to remain together.

With “About Last Night…” Lowe is far from the fresh-faced puppy love that defined the early projects of his career, including his earliest Brat Pack movies. His chemistry with Moore is sexually charged and has a more mature undertone than most of the Brat Pack’s corresponding work at that time. The preceding year had Lowe play an unwilling family man in “St. Elmo’s Fire,” while “About Last Night…” takes a step back to examine that first serious adult love.

With 1985’s “St. Elmo’s Fire,” the Brat Pack plays characters out of college and firmly into young adulthood. Several years after graduating from Georgetown University, a group of friends settle uneasily into their professional careers and domesticity. Recently fired and uncomfortable in his life as a husband and father, Billy (Rob Lowe) grows restless compared to his partying ways in college. Billy’s friends, particularly fast-spending party girl Jules (Demi Moore), reexamine their own lives and relationships, each receiving something of a 20-something reality check.

“St. Elmo’s Fire” is about finally laying the college lifestyle and outlook to rest, and looking ahead to responsibilities and status quo of burgeoning adulthood. Billy is uncomfortable with the life he’s found himself in and Jules can’t live like she’s still in college. Meanwhile, the rest of their friend group face their own uncertainties, from unhappy romance to severe quarter-life crises. “St. Elmo’s Fire” is about breaking free from prolonged arrested development, leaving behind those lingering vestiges of collegiate life in the face of mature reality.

The year before Steve Martin’s successful “Father of the Bride” remake, Alan Alda wrote and directed a narratively similar movie in 1990’s “Betsy’s Wedding.” Brat Pack mainstays Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy play sisters Betsy and Connie, respectively, while Alda plays their father Eddie. As Betsy prepares to get married, Eddie decides to go all-out in paying for the wedding, despite his family’s tight finances. Eddie quickly finds himself in over his head as the wedding costs mount, despite advice from his father’s ghost, played by Rat Pack member Joey Bishop.

“Betsy’s Wedding” is the last movie to star multiple members of the Brat Pack and, perhaps fittingly, the only one to feature a member of the Rat Pack. Despite Ringwald and Sheedy’s prominent roles, “Betsy’s Wedding” is really a vehicle for Alda and his everyman sense of humor. Thematically, “Betsy’s Wedding” feels like the final part of the wider Brat Pack saga of its young characters finding true love and leaving home behind for good. Part of the ensemble reunited for McCarthy’s 2024 documentary “Brats,” but the actors and characters they played had finally come of age.

Certainly the strangest movie to be lumped into the Brat Pack’s work, 1986’s “Blue City” is an action thriller starring Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy. Nelson plays Billy, a man returning to his small Florida town to avenge his father, the community’s former mayor. As Billy investigates the murder, he strikes up a romance with his friend’s sister Annie (Sheedy). This leads to Billy and Annie discovering an entire criminal conspiracy in town exploding into bloody violence.

“Blue City” is a Brat Pack movie in as much as it has two actors from the core ensemble appearing prominently in it. There is no big coming-of-age story, no characters in high school or young adulthood looking to find themselves as they face an existential crossroads. Billy and Annie are relatively static characters, with the former just looking for old-fashioned revenge in his hometown. The most forgettable of the group’s filmography, “Blue City” makes this list purely by association and the barest of inclusionary criteria.