Synopsis – St. Elmo’s Fire
- Carole: A group of recent college graduates embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There’s Kirby, a waiter who a law student and questionable sociopath; Kevin, a melancholy writer for The Washington Post, yearns for Alec’s girlfriend Leslie; Alec, whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie; and Wendy, a quiet girl in love with Billy, who juggles roles as husband, dad and drunk. And Jules, who fails miserably at international banking and managing what went in her body. Together they grapple with adulthood.
Actors & Crew
- Jeannine:
- Robert Hepler Lowe was born March 17, 1964 in Charlottesville, VA. He is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host who grew up in Dayton OH until Junior High and then Malibu CA.. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in The Outsiders, Class, Oxford Blues, St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night…, Masquerade, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. By the turn of the millennium, his career saw a resurgence when he returned to television, making his breakthrough as Sam Seaborn on the NBC political drama The West Wing, for which he received Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. His other television roles include Robert McCallister on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters, Chris Traeger on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, and as Captain Owen Strand on the Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star.
- Carole:
- Demi Gene Moore born November 11, 1962 with the name Demetria Gene Harmon in Roswell, New Mexico, and endured a tumultuous childhood. She is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the 1980s, she became the world’s highest-paid actress by 1995. Her accolades include a Golden Globe, an Actor Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and an Emmy Award. In 2025, she appeared on Time’s 100 most influential people in the world list, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that year. Her notable roles were in movies such as: “About Last Night”, “Ghost”, “Indecent Proposal”, “A Few Good Men”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle”. Most recently, Demi has become a series regular on the Paramount+ drama, Landman.
- Emilio Estevez
- Ally Sheedy
- Judd Nelson
- Andrew McCarthy
- Mare Winningham – Mary Megan “Mare” Winningham born May 16, 1959 is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. An eight-time Emmy Award nominee, she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Amber Waves in 1980 and George Wallace in 1998. She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1995 film Georgia. In 2014, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the original Broadway production of Casa Valentina.
- Andie McDowell – Rosalie Anderson MacDowell, born April 21, 1958, is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for L’Oréal since 1986. Her breakout role was in Sex, Lies, and Videotape, which earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. She then starred in a series of films, including Green Card, Groundhog Day, Short Cuts, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. She starred in a number of independent films, most notably Love After Love. She co-starred opposite her daughter, Margaret Qualley in the Netflix miniseries Maid, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. In 2023, MacDowell began starring in the Hallmark Channel fantasy drama series, The Way Home.
Budget & Casting
Budget: $10mil
Box Office: $37.8mil
Released: June 28, 1985
Rated: R
The film opened strongly, earning $6.1 million in its first week.
According to Joel Schumacher, “a lot of people turned down the script. The head of one major studio called its seven-member cast ‘the most loathsome humans he had ever read on the page.’” The producers interviewed “hundreds of people” for the cast, including Anthony Edwards, Jon Cryer, and Lea Thompson. According to Lauren Shuler Donner, she found Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy through recommendations from John Hughes, who had cast them in The Breakfast Club. Schumacher said he had to “push hard” to get the studio to agree to cast the three. Demi Moore had to go to rehab before shooting.
Principal photography began early October 1984. The private Catholic Jesuit Georgetown University would not permit filming on campus, with their administrators citing questionable content such as premarital sex. As a result, the university seen on film is the public University of Maryland located 10 miles away in College Park.
Rob Lowe won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in this film at the 6th Golden Raspberry Awards.
According to Janet Maslin:
In the realm of films about close-knit bands of school friends, St. Elmo’s Fire falls midway between The Big Chill and The Breakfast Club. Its characters are old enough to enjoy the first flushes of prosperity, but still sufficiently youthful to keep their self-absorption intact. But soon enough, they will be forced to give up their late-night carousing at a favorite bar and move on to more responsible lives. In the film’s terms, which are distinctly limited, this will mean finding a more sedate hangout and learning to go there for brunch….St. Elmo’s Fire is most appealing when it simply gives the actors a chance to flirt with the camera, and with one another. When it attempts to take seriously the problems of characters who are spoiled, affluent and unbearably smug, it becomes considerably less attractive.
Roger Ebert gave St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) a negative review, awarding it 1.5 stars. He characterized the film as a monotonous and predictable collection of unresolved problems. The characters were ultimately unlikable, self-absorbed, and affluent. Ebert criticized the movie for treating serious issues like addiction and obsession as shallow “cinematic gossip” rather than exploring them deeply.
Where to watch: Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube (pay), or Pluto (free)
