St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

42% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

A group of recent college graduates embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There's Kirby (Emilio Estevez), a waiter who wants to be a lawyer; Kevin (Andrew McCarthy), a moody writer who yearns for the wild Jules (Demi Moore) ; Alec (Judd Nelson), whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie (Ally Sheedy) ; and Wendy (Mare Winningham), a quiet girl in love with Billy (Rob Lowe), who juggles roles as husband, dad and drunk. Together they grapple with adulthood.

Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire

What to Know

Critics Consensus

St. Elmo's Fire is almost peak Brat Pack: it's got the cast, the fashion, and the music, but the characters are too frequently unlikable.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (45) Critics Reviews
St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Derek Malcolm Guardian In spite of good playing from talented players like Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy and Ally Sheedy, the film looks more like an up-market version of Porky's than anything more coherent. Apr 4, 2022 Full Review St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Paul Attanasio Washington Post These aren't characters -- they're character hooks. Jan 3, 2018 Full Review St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Sheila Benson Los Angeles Times All speed and stylishness without a bit of emotional resonance beneath. Jul 13, 2017 Full Review St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ...St Elmo's Fire is self-absorbed and dull, just like the characters that it depicts. But it's also something of a hoot to see 80's idiocy laid bare like this... Rated: 3/5 Jun 8, 2021 Full Review St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (5) David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...familiar territory that is, for the most part, employed to underwhelming effect... Rated: 2/4 May 20, 2021 Full Review St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Christopher Lloyd The Film Yap Savaged when it was released, is it time for a reconsidering St. Elmo's Fire, a retrograde look at '80s single life? No. No, it's not. Rated: 2/5 Dec 28, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews

Calvin R It started out OK, but degraded quickly. My wife and I couldn't finish watching it. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/23/24 Full Review Craig B St. Elmo’s Fire… should have been, what it could have been. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/21/24 Full Review Vivienne T Resonates with the coming of age genre - we all make mistakes in our youth- and I love the music. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/21/24 Full Review Diana P Not only is this movie boring, it also manages to serve up societal no no’s such as stalking, drunk driving, and sexual harassment - trying to make them all look cute/normal. I saw this movie in the theater when it came out in 1985. It never sat right with me then. Forty years later, it still doesn’t sit right with me now. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/18/24 Full Review Wayne K St. Elmo's Fire is essentially the Avengers Assemble of Brat Pack flicks, in that it has more members of the group than any other film before or since. A breakthrough movie for Joel Schumacher and much of the cast, it received a lukewarm reception back in its day, with much criticism focusing on the unlikability of the characters. I guess no one told them that characters need to be flawed in order to be interesting. I definitely didn't think that they were too unlikeable. All have their own unique shortcomings, and the film explores how this affects their day to day lives. At its heart, the film is about how the biggest problems in our lives are invariably the ones that we create for ourselves, whether we're too hesitant to take a opportunity when its presented, or squander it through arrogance or carelessness. We sabotage relationships out of spite or stupidity, and we blame others for our own errors. It's a mostly plotless film, being more of a character study, and even though its hard to remember names to begin with, the time we spend with our leads allows us to familiarise and empathise with them and their various situations. There's other films that do this better, even films made around this time, but if you can get past how long it feels at times, I think its earnesty and unpretentiousness will win you over. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/24 Full Review Ma'ark T The only thing this movie has going for it is the snapshot back into the mid-80s (oh and the live saxophone scene is great!). It's a pretty boring script for a coming-of-age film about a group of very unlikeable people. It really did not age well either. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/09/24 Full Review Read all reviews

St. Elmo's Fire

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Joel Schumacher Director Rob Lowe Billy Hicks Demi Moore Jules Andrew McCarthy Kevin Dolenz Judd Nelson Alec Newbary Ally Sheedy Leslie Hunter
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

Movie Clips

View All videos

St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Jules Freaks Out St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Jules Freaks Out 2:13 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - It Is Tomorrow St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - It Is Tomorrow 2:11 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Our Time at the Edge St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Our Time at the Edge 2:08 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Not the Fat Chick St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Not the Fat Chick 2:12 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Still a Virgin St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Still a Virgin 2:13 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Marriage Is Obsolete St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Marriage Is Obsolete 2:10 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Very Pink St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - Very Pink 2:10 St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - What's the Meaning of Life? St. Elmo's Fire: Official Clip - What's the Meaning of Life? 1:49 View more videos

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

Hardcore 78% 67% Hardcore Watchlist Mortal Thoughts 56% 36% Mortal Thoughts Watchlist Boyz N the Hood 96% 93% Boyz N the Hood Watchlist TRAILER for Boyz N the Hood The Indian Runner 74% 80% The Indian Runner Watchlist Higher Learning 46% 73% Higher Learning Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News
Ewan McGregor in Talks for Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars Series Joel Schumacher’s Five Favorite Films ANOTHER "Thunderball" Remake??

Videos

View All videos

St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire: Trailer 1 St. Elmo's Fire: Trailer 1 1:24 View more videos

Photos

View All St. Elmo's Fire photos

St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire (1985) St. Elmo's Fire (1985) View more photos

Synopsis A group of recent college graduates embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There's Kirby (Emilio Estevez), a waiter who wants to be a lawyer; Kevin (Andrew McCarthy), a moody writer who yearns for the wild Jules (Demi Moore) ; Alec (Judd Nelson), whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie (Ally Sheedy) ; and Wendy (Mare Winningham), a quiet girl in love with Billy (Rob Lowe), who juggles roles as husband, dad and drunk. Together they grapple with adulthood.

Director
Joel Schumacher

Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner

Screenwriter
Joel Schumacher

Distributor
Columbia Pictures

Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation

Rating
R

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 28, 1985, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2010

Runtime
1h 48m

Sound Mix
Dolby, Stereo, Surround

Aspect Ratio
35mm, Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now
St. Elmo's Fire | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Margart Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 6221

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (58 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Margart Wisoky

Birthday: 1993-05-13

Address: 2113 Abernathy Knoll, New Tamerafurt, CT 66893-2169

Phone: +25815234346805

Job: Central Developer

Hobby: Machining, Pottery, Rafting, Cosplaying, Jogging, Taekwondo, Scouting

Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.