Many of us will no doubt remember Ally Sheedy as an original member of the famed Brat Pack that were so popular back in the 80s since she was one of the faces we great used to seeing now and again. It is important to note that she was in Bad Boys with Sean Penn, but it’s easier to think of her as the overly shy girl, Allison, from The Breakfast Club, since this was one of the most iconic movies she’s ever starred in, with St. Elmo’s Fire being another that helped to continue to escalate her and several others throughout the years. Be that as it may though Sheedy’s career didn’t so much take a nosedive throughout the last couple of decades as some might have thought, but it did see her mature in a very profound way and has continued to be successful in a different way that many lovers of 80s pop culture couldn’t have foreseen. After all at one point those that were making bank and earning a massive reputation in the 80s were looking as though they might be the future of show business, and some of them went on to do great things before finally fizzling out a bit, but Sheedy has stuck on and been able to do her thing throughout the entire time.
She did get in on the MeToo movement at one point by tweeting that James Franco and Christian Slater had been inappropriate with her in the past, but she took down the tweets eventually, much to the confusion of many people on both sides. Jessica Chasmar of The Washington Times had more to say on this matter. One can only assume that those who supported her and those that were ready to defend against such allegations were quick to come up with their own explanations as to why she would do such a thing. In reality Sheedy’s career has never really suffered from bad press apart from her time on stage when she played the role of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The mixed reviews she received at playing the part of a genderqueer individual made it less than possible for her to see any sense in continuing and she bowed out after a while. But that wasn’t the end of her run since she’s still around and still acting to this day and doesn’t appear to be in any danger of going anywhere. Some might want to think that Hollywood is humoring an older actor and giving her the kind of bit parts she needs to stay relevant but Sheedy has shown up to work in many cases and has managed to prove that she’s still every bit as good of an actress as she ever was. The 57-year old has won a decent number of awards and been nominated for several more, but standing in the spotlight hasn’t always been the biggest part of her career since being remembered is usually far better than some ornate trophy that can chip and crack with time.
If there’s any lesson that the older generation of actors can impart to the younger it’s this: having fans that remember you for various roles and because you were that good is bound to be better than an award that you can’t share and is in many ways kind of meaningless. Sheedy and those that came up with her throughout the business have done a great job at this point since if anyone remembers Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, and Paul Gleason then they did their job and made their roles memorable in a way that’s hard to deny or stamp out with anything other than time. The new actors coming up have a lot of talent, a great deal of youth on their side and the unfortunate arrogance at times that they know what’s right and can tell the people that watch them what’s what. It’s okay, the actors of decades past did this too, and yet they grew up and became the people we know now. Some of them have grown up at least and realized the world doesn’t march to their tune, but that it will gladly grind up and spit out anyone that’s not willing to adapt or not strong enough to stay the course on their own terms. Ally is definitely one of the individuals that has matured in her time and has done what was needed to adapt and to evolve in the constantly changing business that is Hollywood. If there’s a lesson for the younger crowd then it’s based on the idea of evolving within the world you live in to create the change you want, as anything else is naturally designed to break a person down.
As for Ally Sheedy, she’ll keep doing her thing for as long as she can most likely, she’s got years to go yet.Emilio Estevez
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