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St. Elmo's Fire

St. Elmo's Fire

Drama · Romance · Comedy · 1985

Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?

Movie details

St. Elmo's Fire

“The passion burns deep.”

1985 Drama · Romance · Comedy 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over St. Elmo's Fire?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joel Schumacher

Written by

Joel Schumacher · Carl Kurlander

Andrew McCarthy

Andrew McCarthy

Kevin Dolenz

Emilio Estevez

Emilio Estevez

Kirby Keger

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe

Billy Hicks

Demi Moore

Demi Moore

Jules

Judd Nelson

Judd Nelson

Alec Newbary

Ally Sheedy

Ally Sheedy

Leslie Hunter

Mare Winningham

Mare Winningham

Wendy Beamish

Court is in session

Put St. Elmo's Fire on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.