5 Completely Wasted Attempts To Make A New Brat Pack
While the infamous members of the famous Brat Pack would say that they hated the moniker, you can't say it didn't help their career, let alone the movie industry. As a movie-goer, it's nice to know when a flick will have a similar cast; it's give you comfort and lets you see actors (hopefully) portray different characters.
However some cast members wasted the opportunity that a hip, trend-setting movie (or TV show) provided them, and I now I think we have as much chance of seeing Tom Cruise at Kirk Cameron's next Christmas Party then we'll see a new generation of the Brat Pack.
Now before you see one humble blogger's list, some rules:
The Faculty (1998)
The Cast: Jordana Brewster, Josh Harnett, Elijah Wood, Clea Duvall, Laura Harris
The Potential: You had one of the most electric directors and hippest screenwriters of that time. You had a story that not only reached teens, but the no-longer-teens but "I remember that!" crowd. There was some action, horror, drama and jokes both obvious and insider-ish. The teachers were all played by either known names or That Guys, and a young Wood was already a familiar face.)
The Waste: Very little advertising and two good actors (Brewster and Harnett) who seem to want to do one movie every three years. One thing that made TBP popular was constant exposure. I mean seriously, if Brewster was doing movies (and the magazine shots that accompany them) on a regular basis, people would be saying, "Megan who?" Oh yeah, and the movie didn't exactly rock the box office.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
The Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, David Krumholtz
The Potential: You got to see Alex Mack as the "It" Girl and the nerd from Adams Family Values as...well, a nerd. There was a dance number, a prom and female lead who played against type. And the story was a modern take of a Shakespeare story, for God's sake.
The Waste: I blame the year; it's hard to be a good movie at the end of the decade. Why? because everything that comes out in ninth year of a decade feels played out, as if the last group of people who figured out what was cool decided to cash in. It wasn't really the case here, but the movie did scream "90's" which meant for an industry (and movie audience) looking for the year 2000 and beyond meant "meh." The Brat Pack didn't reflect the 80's, it defined it.
The TV series Popular (1999-2001)
The Cast: Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope, Sarah Rue, Tamara Mello, Leslie Grossman
The Potential: The question was simple: What Makes Someone Popular? Considering that 90% of the cast were lookers, "physical appearance" wasn't the right response, so viewers probably expected to be treated to a series worth of deep-yet-comical attempts by the character to find the answer.
The Waste: Notice something in the cast listing? Yep, all girls. It can't be a Pack if it excludes either gender.
American Pie (1999)
The Cast: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Sean William Scott, Mena Suvari
The Potential: It was pretty much a teen's There's Something About Mary: sex, relationships, crazy far-fetched plans and a guy having an inexplicable story involving his private parts.
The Waste: Formula-wise, it was perfect. Too bad Biggs never went on to do anything else of note, Reid ruined her body and Elizabeth was more remembered for being topless than being funny. Klein and Suvari still do stuff, but you'd have to look them up by name to find out what. That leaves Hannigan and Scott: the Band Camp Girl and the Sex-starved Jerk. 'Nuff said.
Scream (1996)
The Cast: Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard,
The Potential: You had a Johnny Depp look-alike, two choices for comic relief and a story that took on the slasher-film genre in a good way. The guy who wrote the Faculty? This was his first mainstream effort.
The Waste: Campbell (despite starring in two sequels) didn't want to be typecast. McGowan fell for Marilyn Manson (natch). Kennedy thought that playing white hip-hop lovers was the next big thing. Ulrich went to TV and Lillard ended up playing interesting characters in shows and movies most people (who, unlike me 'cause I watch everything) probably never saw. What sucks about this movie was that it was so fucking popular they brought it back to theaters for a second round.
However some cast members wasted the opportunity that a hip, trend-setting movie (or TV show) provided them, and I now I think we have as much chance of seeing Tom Cruise at Kirk Cameron's next Christmas Party then we'll see a new generation of the Brat Pack.
Now before you see one humble blogger's list, some rules:
- The movie/show in question must have been geared toward teens and preteens, so Frat Pack movies don't count.
- In true Brat Pack tradition, the cast has to be deep. So a movie centered around four characters won't cut it (which excludes the Freddie Prinze Jr / Ryan Phllippe / Sarah Michelle Gellar / Seth Green dynamic).
- You can't go retro, like "Hey, did you know that all of these now-cool actors were in this one movie/show that very few people watched/followed? In other words: did you know Seth Rogen better from Freaks and Geeks or Knocked Up? I thought so; that's why Freaks and Geeks isn't on the list.
The Faculty (1998)
The Cast: Jordana Brewster, Josh Harnett, Elijah Wood, Clea Duvall, Laura Harris
The Potential: You had one of the most electric directors and hippest screenwriters of that time. You had a story that not only reached teens, but the no-longer-teens but "I remember that!" crowd. There was some action, horror, drama and jokes both obvious and insider-ish. The teachers were all played by either known names or That Guys, and a young Wood was already a familiar face.)
The Waste: Very little advertising and two good actors (Brewster and Harnett) who seem to want to do one movie every three years. One thing that made TBP popular was constant exposure. I mean seriously, if Brewster was doing movies (and the magazine shots that accompany them) on a regular basis, people would be saying, "Megan who?" Oh yeah, and the movie didn't exactly rock the box office.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
The Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, David Krumholtz
The Potential: You got to see Alex Mack as the "It" Girl and the nerd from Adams Family Values as...well, a nerd. There was a dance number, a prom and female lead who played against type. And the story was a modern take of a Shakespeare story, for God's sake.
The Waste: I blame the year; it's hard to be a good movie at the end of the decade. Why? because everything that comes out in ninth year of a decade feels played out, as if the last group of people who figured out what was cool decided to cash in. It wasn't really the case here, but the movie did scream "90's" which meant for an industry (and movie audience) looking for the year 2000 and beyond meant "meh." The Brat Pack didn't reflect the 80's, it defined it.
The TV series Popular (1999-2001)
The Cast: Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope, Sarah Rue, Tamara Mello, Leslie Grossman
The Potential: The question was simple: What Makes Someone Popular? Considering that 90% of the cast were lookers, "physical appearance" wasn't the right response, so viewers probably expected to be treated to a series worth of deep-yet-comical attempts by the character to find the answer.
The Waste: Notice something in the cast listing? Yep, all girls. It can't be a Pack if it excludes either gender.
American Pie (1999)
The Cast: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Sean William Scott, Mena Suvari
The Potential: It was pretty much a teen's There's Something About Mary: sex, relationships, crazy far-fetched plans and a guy having an inexplicable story involving his private parts.
The Waste: Formula-wise, it was perfect. Too bad Biggs never went on to do anything else of note, Reid ruined her body and Elizabeth was more remembered for being topless than being funny. Klein and Suvari still do stuff, but you'd have to look them up by name to find out what. That leaves Hannigan and Scott: the Band Camp Girl and the Sex-starved Jerk. 'Nuff said.
Scream (1996)
The Cast: Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard,
The Potential: You had a Johnny Depp look-alike, two choices for comic relief and a story that took on the slasher-film genre in a good way. The guy who wrote the Faculty? This was his first mainstream effort.
The Waste: Campbell (despite starring in two sequels) didn't want to be typecast. McGowan fell for Marilyn Manson (natch). Kennedy thought that playing white hip-hop lovers was the next big thing. Ulrich went to TV and Lillard ended up playing interesting characters in shows and movies most people (who, unlike me 'cause I watch everything) probably never saw. What sucks about this movie was that it was so fucking popular they brought it back to theaters for a second round.
Comments