Call it the Punky Posse.
Frank Sinatra had his rat pack. Rob Lowe had his Brat Pack. And as a new documentary reveals, child actor Soleil Moon Frye – star of the 1980s sitcom “Punky Brewster” – once had her own exclusive group of showbiz friends.
“Kid 90,” directed by Frye and premiering on Hulu on Friday, tells her story from childhood superstar to washed-up teen to 44-year-old mother of four.
What sets this documentary apart is the stunning original images.
As a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Frye began taking a video camera wherever she went – really, whereverShe recorded drunken fights with friends, wild parties, dinner meals, and boring car rides. She also claims to have saved almost every answering machine message she’s ever received.
The mountain of images has been hidden in a storage cupboard for about 20 years.
Now Frye has decided to “unlock the safe”.
The unwitting co-stars of this footage are her shining group of friends at the time, a star cast of Hollywood teenagers from the 80s and 90s, including Leonardo DiCaprio (one of the film’s executive producers), Mark-Paul Gosselaar from Saved by the Bell “and Balthazar Getty from” Lord of the Flies. “
“We did the things that teenagers did,” Frye says in the film. “We happened to be in Hollywood.”
At the age of 18, Frye left LA for New York, where she enrolled in the New School and immediately came into contact with a new group of celebrities – the skaters who star in Larry Clark’s 1995 movie ‘Kids’.
Below is a look at the core members of Punky Posse.
Brian Austin Green
“There were 12 children in the company, so we all knew everyone,” says the now 47-year-old former child star Green in the film. Green can be seen on a trip to SeaWorld with Frye, as well as in the present, discussing what he believes was the lowest point of his worldwide fame: the release of his poorly received 1996 hip-hop album.
Where he is now: After starring in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and marrying Megan Fox, Green is now a panelist on “The Masked Dancer”.
Charlie Sheen
Frye says she lost her virginity to Sheen when she was 18. After moving to New York City, he became her “Mr. Big,” forced her to attend exclusive events, such as the opening day at Yankee Stadium.
Where he is now: Sheen plays an occasional movie and TV role and still drinks tiger blood.
Danny Boy
Frye was in a relationship with House of Pain rapper, born Daniel O’Connor, at the height of his “Jump Around” popularity, and can be seen in the movie drinking, smoking and driving expensive cars.
Where he is now: Frye reconnects with a more laid-back O’Connor at his Oklahoma home. He continues to work in the music industry.
Jenny Lewis
“I just hope he doesn’t find my gun,” the actor “Growing Pains” and “Baywatch” crunches when she and Frye are stopped by a cop. “Do you have anything with you?” Frye asks. “Drugs?” Lewis asks. “I have a few too.”
Where she is now: She is one of the founders of rock band Rilo Kiley and is a successful solo musician.
David Arquette
“It was getting dark,” Arquette says in the film of his teenage parties, including heroin smoking.
Where he is now: After debuting in the 1990 TV series ‘The Outsiders’, the actor starred in the ‘Scream’ series and continues to appear in film and TV.
Jonathan Brandis
Perhaps best known for his role in 1993’s “SeaQuest DSV,” the actor became a teenage heartbreaker. Frye says revisiting the old statues made her realize how blind she had been that many of her friends were in pain “and needed to be heard.” In an answering machine message, Brandis complained, “If I could come for the holidays, it would be my pleasure.”
Where he is now: Like several of Frye’s friends from her childhood, he’s gone. Brandis died of suicide in 2003 at the age of 27.
Sara Gilbert
Frye developed a close relationship with the “Roseanne” star when they were both children, and the two remain close. “Why do you have so many hours of boring videotapes,” she snaps at Frye as she washes her hands in a bathroom.
Where she is now: She currently stars in the spin-off ‘Roseanne’, ‘The Conners’, and she has made the daytime show ‘The Talk’.
Kevin Connolly
The future “Entourage” star is seen in the film with a state-of-the-art car phone to call “Mike and Leo” before he and the group take a day trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Where he is now: He directed 2018’s ‘Gotti’, one of the few films to ever receive a 0 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.