Stand By Me (1986)

Today's film is Stand By Me.  I think I'm in the wrong demographic for this film.  Everyone who I asked said they liked it because it's nostalgic.  It came out the year I was born! It's not nostalgic at all for me.  And, when I was twelve, my friends and I never acted this way.  These boys are so whiny and bogged down by their problems.

 

This film is so melodramatic it's not even funny.  The whole point is that they walk two days to find a dead body in the woods.  Then when they get there, they don't even take it to the police like they planned.  They decide to call in an anonymous tip.  Well you could have done that without walking two days!

 

The main character, Gordie, is a promising writer. His story is narrated by the adult Gordie reminiscing about his childhood.  I'm not sure how great of a writer he is, but the only story he actually tells is about a fat guy who gets everyone to vomit on each other. I'm so glad I stuck around to hear that fascinating tale.

The best part of the film is the acting.  I have not seen many films starring mostly children that was so well acted.  In fact, the four main boys moved on to new roles and are still acting today .  Gordie was played by Wil Wheaton, who in the following year became Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: TNG.  Plus, he's Wil Wheaton! Corey Feldman did other good movies from the 1980's including The Goonies and The Lost Boys. Jerry O'Connell (who played the chunky Verne and grew up hot) has done a ton of TV series, and River Phoenix (who did the best performance of any of them) also had more films before passing away in 1993.  This film is great if you'd like to see a film starring children that doesn't overly suck.  I will give it a 6/10.