War Games

War Games stars Brat Packer Ally Sheedy as well as possible Brat Packer and now best known as significant other of the horsey one from Sex and The City, Matthew Broderick. It was released in 1983 and was way ahead of it’s time because of the computer technology that was used. The movie was a critical as well as a box office success. It cost $12m to make but grossed over $79m after just five months in the US and Canada. War Games received generally positive reviews and was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography, Writing and Screenplay.

Broderick plays David Lightman, a lazy student but motivated hacker. When his grades at school start to slide, David hacks into the school computer and improves them somewhat. At the same time, he also does the favour for classmate Jennifer Mack, played by Sheedy. While dialing numbers from his computer to find information on games one day, David stumbles across a computer which does not identify itself. This is where the movie really begins in earnest and after a time it is revealed the computer actually has the power to start World War III. From here, David and Jennifer go on an adventure, trying to stop the potential disaster.

War Games Rating

Not a bad movie at all and well ahead of it’s time, War Games gets a Brat Pack rating of 7/10.

War Games Characters

Jennifer – Played by Ally Sheedy

David – Played by Matthew Broderick

War Games Trivia

Both a Galaga and a Galaxian machine were delivered to Matthew Broderick’s home by the studio, which gave him two months to practice for the arcade scene.

Martin Brest was the original director of War Games. A number of the scenes he shot are still in the movie.

Professor Stephen Hawking was the writers’ main inspiration for the character of Professor Stephen Falken. The studio approached Hawking about appearing in the film but he felt his disability might be being exploited.

War Games Links

Interesting article on War Games from Wired.com

War Games Review from 1983 by Roger Ebert

Blue City

I seem to say this a lot but Blue City really is a very under rated Brat Pack movie. Judd Nelson plays Billy Turner, a guy who returns to his home town to find out his dad, the mayor of Blue City, has been killed. From there it’s about Billy trying to find answers and not being afraid to do anything to get them.

Ally Sheedy’s character isn’t exactly very complex. She plays the love interest and does so as well as can be expected. It is a slightly different role for Sheedy in that she’s edgier than in previous roles and more of a bad girl.

Blue City was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by Ross MacDonald. When I say based I mean it in the loosest possible sense. I think that is part of the reason the film was so poorly received. Fans of the novel were expecting something more than just a watered down Beverly Hills Cop. The movie was probably aimed at more of a teen audience and an awful lot of the storyline was changed as a result.

Blue City was very poorly received by critics upon release, and was nominated for a host of awards at the 7th Golden Raspberry Awards.

This movie was never going to win any awards, positive ones anyway, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. I think as long as you aren’t a fan of the book and you are a fan of the Brat Pack, you’ll enjoy Blue City.

Brat Pack Rating

I’d give Blue City a solid if unspectacular Brat Pack rating of 6 out of 10.

Blue City Characters

Billy Turner – Played by Judd Nelson

Annie Rayford – Played by Ally Sheedy

Joey Rayford – Played by CSI’s David Caruso

Blue City Trivia

Look out for a young David Caruso.

Blue City Links

Blue City @ IMDB

Blue City @ Rotten Tomatoes

Oxford Blues

Oxford Blues is the story of Nick Di Angelo, played by Rob Lowe. Nick has a major thing for Lady Victoria Wingate and is working in a Las Vegas casino to earn enough money to pursue her to Oxford. Nick believes he can win her over if he gets a place at Oxford University and join their rowing team.

Nick spends the night with a wealthy older woman while working at the casino and she gives him enough money to get to Oxford. When he arrives he meets another American in Rona, played by Ally Sheedy.

It isn’t long before Nick finds Lady Victoria but she is already involved with the star of the rowing team, Colin Gilchrist Fisher. Nick and Colin soon build up a fierce rivalry that only gets stronger until the climax of the film.

Oxford Blues was never going to win any Oscars but it’s a fun movie and would hold special interest for anyone that’s attended Oxford University or likes rowing!

Oxford Blues Characters

Nick Di Angelo – The lead character played by Rob Lowe. Nick is trying to get into Oxford University to chase the woman of his dreams Lady Victoria Wingate.

Rona – Another American at Oxford, Ally Sheedy character becomes friends with Nick but she wants more.

Lady Victoria Wingate – The object of Nick’s affection, she does her best to resist his advances.

Colin Gilchrist Fisher – Played by Julian Sands who you may recognise if you are a 24 fan. Colin is the star of the rowing team and takes an instant dislike to Nick.

Geordie Nevitts – Nick’s trusty room mate and friend.

Oxford Blues Trivia

Lady Victoria’s character was loosely based on Princess Stephanie of Monaco.

Star Cary Elwes’ brother, Cassian Elwes, served as Producer on this film.

Oxford Blues Links

Buy Oxford Blues

Oxford Blues @ IMDB

Oxford Blue @ Rotten Tomatoes

Ally Sheedy

Best known to some as the girl with the robot from Short Circuit, Ally Sheedy starred in the two key Brat pack Movies, The Breakfast Club and St Elmo’s Fire.

Her role as the loveable freak Allison in The Breakfast Club showed her ability to tackle even the most difficult of roles and that she wasn’t only the ‘girlfriend’ for the leading man.

Ally’s body of work in the 90’s included the critically acclaimed High Art. She has since gone on to land roles in The Dead Zone and Kyle XY.

Ally Sheedy Biography 
Ally’s big break was writing a story at age 12 about an encounter between Elizabeth I and a mouse. The story was picked up and published by McGraw-Hill and was titled ‘She Was Nice To Mice’. It became a bestseller.

From a very young age until her early teens Ally danced with the American Ballet Theatre. When she realized dancing meant a very strict diet regime she turned to acting full time. Still in her teens she was getting a lot of offers of work from various newspapers and magazines including the Village Voice and the New York Times.

Eventually, Ally decided to take an offer to write a piece on her and her Mother for Ms. Magazine.

An appearance on the Mike Douglas Show to promote her book led to her being signed by an agent who saw the show. At 18 Ally enrolled in the drama department at USC and soon landed roles in ‘The Best Little Girl In The World’, ‘Homeroom and ‘Hill Street Blues’. Her big break came as Sean Penn’s girlfriend JC in the film ‘Bad Boys’.

Her next role was in the 1983 movie ‘War Games’ with Matthew Broderick. After this came ‘Oxford Blues’ with Rob Lowe, ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘St Elmo’s Fire’.

In 1992 Ally married David Lansbury and in 1994 they had a daughter named Rebecca.

In recent years Ally has won Best Actress awards from both the Los Angeles Film Critics’ Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. She also won Best Female Lead from the Independent Spirit Awards for her performance as Lucy Berlinger in High Art.

Ally Sheedy Quotes

“I started writing because I used to tell stories to the children who lived nearby and when I was six I started writing them down. I write poetry and plays, too, and writing is important to me. It is important for me to express my feelings and thoughts. If I’m feeling angry or wonderful or upset or happy I just write it out and reread the feelings over and over again. When I’m depressed I read something I wrote when I was happy and I can feel a great lift in my spirits. I love writing!”

“It’s so unfair. The term “Brat Pack” is so condescending.”

Ally Sheedy Links

Ally Sheedy Pages – Great Ally site