Andrew McCarthy’s documentary “The Brats” includes plenty of interviews with key members of the ’80s celebrity group known as “The Brat Pack,” but there are a few conspicuous absences.
One of them is the group’s youngest member, Anthony Michael Hall, who recently revealed his decision not to take part.
“I was asked to participate and my thoughts are, I wish everybody the best, but I just choose not to participate because I’m always trying to move forward and create new things and do new things,” Hall told TV Insider.
He continued, “The truth is, I’ve had to embrace the John Hughes era throughout my career and, of course, as I wanted to say here, I’m happy to have done so. It’s never been a problem for me. But I think I’ve learned over time that you have to wish everyone success.”
Brat Pack’s Andrew McCarthy on Inside the Club 30 Years Later: ‘Everybody Hated It’
“I’m always trying to move forward and make new things and do new things,” Anthony Michael Hall told TV Insider about why he turned down a role in Andrew McCarthy’s documentary Bratz. (James Devaney/GC Images)
In 2022, Hall told Fox News Digital that he “never expected” the fame that came with being part of the Brat Pack, saying that becoming famous so quickly at age 15 was “tough” and “definitely required some adjustment.”
“Recognition can be awkward as an adult, but it’s even more so at that age when you already have a lot of insecurities. It was very hard,” Hall explained. “I was trying to make a joke, but it’s true that it took me 20 years to understand what it’s like to be 15, because I’ve been through so much in that time. I’m grateful for that, and I thank God I had such strong, amazing parents.”
The other two main members of the group, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson, do not appear in Bratz.
Nelson said Us Weekly In March, he “politely declined” an invitation to appear in the documentary, saying, “Why bring back something that’s not necessarily enjoyable? … Can you become an expert on something that never actually existed?”
“The Breakfast Club” stars Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson both turned down roles in the “Bratz” documentary. (Getty Images)
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He added, “It seems odd to me to turn that subject into an edited entertainment piece. And, although he’s a nice guy, I haven’t seen him in 35 years. So, I [be] “I was like, ‘Hey!’ No, I’m not.”
In a 2016 interview with Fox News Digital, Ringwald admitted she wasn’t a big fan of being called the “Brat Pack,” saying, “I certainly felt like it was a nickname that wasn’t positive or fair. I thought it was sexualized.”
Hall told TV Insider that he hasn’t seen the documentary yet but praised McCarthy.
“I think he’s had a great career,” Hall said. “He’s a writer, he’s a TV director. He’s a cool guy. He’s a father.”
Hall, the youngest member of the Brat Pack, told TV Insider that he hasn’t seen the documentary but praised McCarthy, saying, “I think he’s had a great career. He’s a writer, he’s a TV director. He’s a cool guy. He’s a father.” (Getty Images)
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McCarthy directed the Hulu documentary, which explores how he and his co-stars, including Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer and Ally Sheedy, feel about the “Brat Pack” label, which was first coined by New York Magazine’s David Blum in 1985.
“It was really weird when it first happened. People hated it,” McCarthy said. “Good morning, America” Last month, he said: “Does anybody want to be called a brat as a kid? Especially when you’re a kid and you think you’re a brat, you don’t want to be called that, you don’t want to be part of the pack, and I just felt like that was affecting our lives.”
She added, “Over time it’s become this wonderfully symbolic and endearing term, so I’d love to know what connection people had with it.”
McCarthy also said: People Magazine While the public appreciated the term, the industry did not.
McCarthy’s documentary explores his own and the other members of the Brat Pack’s relationship with the term that defined them in the ’80s. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TriBeCa Festival)
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“It had professional repercussions,” he explained. “The public accepted us, but the industry reacted negatively.”
Fox News Digital’s Bree Stimson and Larry Fink contributed to this report.
