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While they're all good friends, having come together at University, the bond of kinship is being severely tested by the current state of flux. Leslie and Alex are a perfect couple, people who just seem to be made for each other. While Leslie is busy buttressing her career, Alex works impartially for politicians (swinging from Democrat to Republican because the money's better). Right now he'd like to get hitched, ignoring the fact that Leslie would just like to live together for a while longer. Wendy is under the same sort of marital pressure, in this case from her wealthy, Jewish parents. They'd like her to settle down with a "nice boy", like Howie Krantz (Jon Cutler), when all she wants is Billy.
The problem is that Billy is the wild man of the group, scarcely altered since college days. Given his womanising, drug-taking, abusive lifestyle, it's ironic that he's the only one married, with a kid. Meanwhile Kevin is a budding Pulitzer Prize winner, stuck penning obituaries. The only one lacking a girlfriend (or chasing one), the rumours fly. His roommate Kirbo isn't much better off though, obsessed with Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell), an older doctor whom he briefly dated. The mere fact that she's already in a relationship doesn't dissuade the ardent Kirbo. Rounding out this gaggle of misfits, Jules stumbles between crises in a cocaine haze. Up to her eyes in credit-card debt, she things nothing of casually screwing her boss in pursuit of promotion.
Poised on the brink of the rest of their lives, the central figures of St. Elmo's Fire are predominantly confused. While University was supposed to prepare them for adulthood, all they really came away with was a piece of paper and some fancy photos. Thus the really big questions have been left just hanging there, forcing these friends to try and muddle through. Because of this it's like there are pieces of elastic connecting everyone together - their minor squabbles and upsets drive everyone apart, yet sooner or later they're drawn back together, looking out for each other.
The most amazing quality shared by all of these characters is their immaturity and selfishness. It's true that these are the avaricious Eighties where acting self-centred was a virtue, but the traits displayed here go far beyond this. All of the men, to different degrees, want control over women, money and life. The women are portrayed in a slightly more positive light, though Jules makes up for this with her manipulative, materialistic and possessive ways. The upshot is that none of the characters are overly pleasant, people that you'd wish to spend time with. Hence, while the cast is charismatic and talented, their roles are not - they're just spoilt children who don't know when they've got it good.
As a movie, St. Elmo's Fire is rather artificial. The script drags the assorted stereotypes over a psychological assault course, before ending on a note of resolution (unlike real life). While this doesn't automatically make the film bad, it'd be a great deal more satisfying if some acute and perceptive observations could have been included along the way. Coupled to an ok soundtrack, St. Elmo's Fire is destined to forever reside in the zone marked "average" (also, just how do these recent graduates obtain such stunning apartments in Washington DC?).
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