Andrew McCarthy Shares His Kids' Honest Reactions to His Classic '80s Films

Andrew McCarthy’s ’80s films may have defined a generation, but at home, they get a much more candid review. The actor shared how his children reacted after finally watching some of his most famous movies.

Andrew McCarthy may be forever linked to his Brat Pack heyday, but at home, his kids have their own unfiltered opinions about his most famous films.

Speaking to People in a recent interview, the 63-year-old actor and author admitted that his kids are not very familiar with his work.

“My kids have never seen my movies, you know, really,” he said, adding that most of his family members “have never read any of my books.”

However, there is one exception. His eldest son, Sam, was about 15 when he watched the 1989 comedy "Weekend at Bernie’s."

The cult classic features McCarthy as an insurance employee who discovers his boss is dead at his Hamptons home. Sam had a brutally honest reaction to the film, according to Andrew.

“Well, my son actually years ago, like when he was 15, I think he saw "Weekend at Bernie’s," and he was like, ‘Dad. I love you. That's the stupidest movie I've ever seen,'” McCarthy recalled with a laugh. “And I said, ‘Well, that's the point, Sammy.’”

Another of Andrew's films also caught the attention of his daughter, Willow, who took a peek at the classic "Pretty in Pink" when she was 16, and her friends encouraged her to watch it. Instead of sitting through the full movie, she checked out the trailer on YouTube.

When she saw her dad kissing Molly Ringwald onscreen, “I don't wanna see that,” Andrew recalled her saying. “And I think, you know, that's absolutely the appropriate reaction,” he added.

While McCarthy shot to fame in the 1980s as a member of the Brat Pack and went on to appear in dozens of films, he has since branched out into directing and become a New York Times bestselling author.

His latest book, "Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America," will be released on March 24, 2026.

According to Andrew, the idea for the book stemmed partly from an offhand comment from Sam. “You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?” his son once asked, inspiring McCarthy to explore male friendship across the country.

The project took him some ten thousand miles behind the wheel as he reconnected with friends across Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the Chihuahuan Desert, and the Rocky Mountains.

McCarthy is a father of three. He welcomed Sam on March 15, 2002, with his ex-wife Carol Schneider. He later had daughter Willow, born July 24, 2006, and son Rowan, born around 2014, with his wife, Dolores Rice.

Sam is now also an actor, landing roles in "Dead to Me," "Goosebumps," and "Condor." Sam and Andrew also bonded over a 500-mile walk along the Camino de Santiago, which Andrew documented in his 2023 memoir, "Walking with Sam."

At home, though, Hollywood history doesn’t seem to carry much weight. Whether it’s calling a film “the stupidest movie” he’s ever seen or refusing to watch a trailer past an awkward kiss, McCarthy’s kids keep their reactions honest — and he appears to appreciate it.