Andrew McCarthy recently shed light on why Molly Ringwald chose not to participate in his documentary, “Brats,” which delves into the lives and careers of the iconic Brat Pack. Despite McCarthy’s efforts to include her, Ringwald ultimately decided against appearing in the film.
McCarthy, 60, revealed to Us Weekly that he had a brief conversation with Ringwald about the project. “She said she’d think about it and that was really the end of it,” he explained. The documentary, directed by McCarthy, revisits the Brat Pack era, featuring some of the most prominent stars from the 1980s who were often uncomfortable with the label.
The term “Brat Pack” originated from a 1985 New York Magazine article by David Blum. The group included Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Jon Cryer, Demi Moore, and Rob Lowe, all of whom shared their experiences with McCarthy for the documentary. They discussed how the label impacted their careers and personal lives.
McCarthy noted that the Brat Pack members felt isolated due to the public’s perception of them. “We felt sort of, in a weird way, very alone in this thing because we interpreted it as one thing and the whole rest of the public interpreted it entirely differently,” he said. “That’s all any of us ever want in life is to be seen, and we suddenly felt unseen in a certain way.”
Although Ringwald, 56, is featured in the documentary through archived footage, McCarthy admitted it “would’ve been great” to have a direct conversation with her. “She’s so articulate and insightful about these things,” he said. “The Brat Pack’s a funny thing. It’s like an octopus — it has these long tentacles you still reach out and you can either feel them as an embrace or as something [else]. People are at different places in their lives.”
McCarthy also expressed his desire to interview more people about their Brat Pack experiences but was limited by time and budget constraints. The documentary opens with McCarthy cold-calling his former co-stars, a process he found challenging. “My number’s not blocked, so there’s this random number [that] comes up and it’s like, ‘I’m not answering that phone.’ Nobody answers their phone anymore because nobody calls anybody anymore,” he said.
Transparency was a key element for McCarthy in making the documentary. “I’m filming you talking to me about the Brat Pack in your kitchen. That’s what’s happening, we’re not trying to make it something else,” he explained. This approach aimed to provide an honest and unfiltered look at the Brat Pack’s legacy.
Judd Nelson, another central figure in the Brat Pack, was also absent from the documentary despite McCarthy’s attempts to reach him. “Judd [is], I think, in an undisclosed location,” McCarthy quipped. “But we did speak.”
Ringwald’s absence is particularly notable given her significant role in the Brat Pack’s history. In a previous interview with Variety, she discussed how the label limited her career opportunities. “Not everyone was able to write for teenagers as successfully as [John Hughes] did,” she said. “And even though I wanted to take on adult material, I was limited because I was still a teenager.”
She added that the Brat Pack label “was kind of a way to dismiss” the actors when they tried to land future roles. Despite these challenges, Ringwald has maintained a steady career with roles in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” the Netflix “Kissing Booth” franchise, “Riverdale,” and recent projects like “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.”
McCarthy acknowledged that he “wanted to talk to 50 more people” about their Brat Pack experiences but was constrained by time and money. He managed to catch up with several Brat Pack members and actors in their orbit, including Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, and Timothy Hutton.
The documentary also features an interview with David Blum, the journalist who coined the term “Brat Pack.” McCarthy reflected on the long-lasting impact of the label on his life and career. “The Brat Pack has cast a long shadow over my life and career. After all these years, I was curious to see how it had affected my fellow Brat Pack members. What I found was surprising — and liberating,” he said.
While the documentary provides a comprehensive look at the Brat Pack’s legacy, the absence of Ringwald and Nelson leaves a noticeable gap. However, their presence is felt through archival footage and the conversations they continue to inspire among their peers.
