#125 - "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985) with JB Huffman
In the mid-1980s, few films targeted young adults, and studios were still figuring out how to connect with the emerging Generation X. Enter St. Elmo's Fire—a quintessential 80s flick that featured a star-studded cast of rising talent: Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Mare Winningham, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Demi Moore. Centered around a group of recent Georgetown grads navigating the post-college world, the film perfectly captured the spirit of the Reagan era. It resonated with a generation on the cusp of adulthood. In this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast, join Tim Williams and guest co-host JB Huffman as they dive into the cultural touchstone that is St. Elmo’s Fire.
In the mid-1980s, few films targeted young adults, and studios were still figuring out how to connect with the emerging Generation X. Enter St. Elmo's Fire—a quintessential 80s flick that featured a star-studded cast of rising talent: Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Mare Winningham, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Demi Moore. Centered around a group of recent Georgetown grads navigating the post-college world, the film perfectly captured the spirit of the Reagan era. It resonated with a generation on the cusp of adulthood. In this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast, join Tim Williams and guest co-host, JB Huffman, as they dive into the cultural touchstone that is St. Elmo’s Fire.
Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
- The higher education campus featured in the movie is Georgetown University. All the main characters in the film attended this university together. However, after reviewing the script, the administrators at Georgetown University declined to allow the producers to film on campus. As a result, the on-campus scenes were shot at the University of Maryland instead. The only appearance of Georgetown University in the film is a long shot taken from across the Potomac River.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://ew.com/movies/2017/04/11/st-elmos-fire-oral-history/
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/st-elmos-fire-movie/
Some sections were composed by ChatGPT
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J.B. Huffman
Podcaster & Film Critic
J.B. Huffman is an Alabama-based independent film critic whose writing you can find in small doses on Letterboxd. He hosts a biweekly podcast called Manly Movies, where he and a guest discuss their favorite movies and the lessons they teach us about being a man. Being a husband and a father of two, personal growth in the calling that men have is one of his biggest passions, and movies can be a tremendous tool to help us through that. J.B.’s main goal in film criticism is to find the good in everything he watches because there is an audience for every film, and every filmmaker should get a certain level of respect in that regard. His favorite tagline is “not all five stars are created equal,” meaning that a film that perfectly accomplishes the goal that was set out by its director deserves the highest rating, regardless of its technical quality or awards status. He finds that viewing film through those two lenses makes for a more enjoyable experience.
