Home Books Brat: An '80s Story

Brat: An '80s Story

Brat: An '80s Story

by Andrew McCarthy

Grand Central Publishing ·2021 ·223 pages ·Film & TV
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
46/99
Maybe Someday

41/99

Critics

Near the Top

52/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

16/99

Rating

66/99

Volume

12/99

Rating

91/99

Volume

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About This Book

Most people know Andrew McCarthy from his movie roles in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Weekend at Bernie's, and Less than Zero, and as a charter member of Hollywood's Brat Pack. That iconic group of ingenues and heartthrobs included Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore, and has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture. In his memoir Brat: An '80s Story, McCarthy focuses his gaze on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. New York City of the 1980s is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life. Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.


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Reviews

"With a candid exploration of his feelings of isolation along with his battles with alcohol and drug addiction, McCarthy's memoir will appeal to aspiring actors, fans of his work, and readers fascinated by the movie world."

Kristine Huntley· Booklist Read review ↗ Near the Top

"as a life journey from McCarthy's hometown of Westfield, New Jersey, and a loving middle-class family, the narrative drama thins ..."

Matt Damsker· USA Today Read review ↗ Near the Top

"McCarthy is a talented and intelligent writer who tactfully refrains from making this a kiss-and-tell history of the Brat Pack."

Lisa Henry· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"It's not Just Kids, but the book is a pleasant combination of name-dropping, fun insights, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the actor's relief at jumping off his particular 1980s hamster wheel ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

"McCarthy is clear-eyed and unsparing about Hollywood but takes the emotional intensity of the actor's craft and life seriously."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Yet, by zeroing in on these formative years, McCarthy sells himself short ..."

Thomas Floyd· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

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