ebh@mtx5a.UUCP (Ed Horch) (07/01/85)
I was wondering when it was going to happen. After seeing maybe 25
movies and S&E's reviews thereof, this is the first time I whole-
heartedly disagree with them.
They gave SEF the worst review I've ever heard them give. The only
thing that kept Gene Siskel in check was the fact that there are certain
things you can't say on broadcast television. They called the
characters shallow and their surroundings unrealistic.
C'mon guys, you missed the point!
No, the characters weren't as complex as those in The Breakfast Club.
They weren't supposed to be. The characterizations in TBC were important
because they bore heavily on how the people interacted. In SEF, the
relationships among the seven people had existed all through college.
What SEF showed was how the various permutations of relatively simple
personalities could produce disasterously complex results. These people
are now outside the relatively homogeneous college environment, making
their way through life (or avoiding doing that) in their own individual
ways, which are not always mutually compatible.
Therein lies the whole point of the movie: How do seven friends deal
with these new complications their collective friendship faces?
S&E also had much bad language for St. Elmo's Bar (which is where the
name of the movie came from, natch). While they blasted the place, its
clientele, and their behavoir therein, they failed to see why the bar
was there to begin with. It, and its "let's party" atmosphere were
symbols of what these people were in college - the more perfect (Per-
fect? We don't really know, but we do know it was better than now.)
less troubled continuum of good times.
Gene and Roger, go see the movie again, but bear in mind that you're not
seeing another Breakfast Club or Big Chill; nor is this just another
masturbatory exercise for the so-called "brat pack".
Thumbs up to St. Elmo's Fire.
-Ed Horch {ihnp4,akgua,ariel}!mtx5b!ebh
P.S. Criticism welcome; flames to /dev/null.ded@aplvax.UUCP (Don E. Davis) (07/09/85)
I haven't seen this movie yet, but I have seen the reviews. It appears to me that this movie has great appeal to younger viewers who can emphasize with the actors, but hardly anyone else. (And please don't send me a letter stating you are 40 and loved the movie; some people never make it past 18). -- Don Davis JHU/APL ...decvax!harpo!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!ded ...rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!aplvax!ded
cjh@petsd.UUCP (Chris Henrich) (07/19/85)
[] In article <123@aplvax.UUCP> ded@aplvax.UUCP (Don E. Davis) writes: > ... It appears >to me that this movie has great appeal to younger viewers who can emphasize >with the actors, but hardly anyone else. All of us can emphasize with the actors, even if we can't fully synthesize with them. Regards, Chris -- Full-Name: Christopher J. Henrich UUCP: ..!(cornell | ariel | ukc | houxz)!vax135!petsd!cjh US Mail: MS 313; Perkin-Elmer; 106 Apple St; Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 Phone: (201) 758-7288