Review of Stand by Me (1986) by Eric L — 20 Aug 2011

Fantastic coming of age story about 4 boys; based on the short story "The Body" by Stephen King. The story is about an overnight hike by 4 boys to find the body of a boy that had been hit by a train. The film adaptation is much different from the short story, so don't watch it as an adaptation. If you do, you will criticize it for its deviations. Just watch it as a stand alone story and it is fantastic.

The story is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, who plays the grown up version of one of the boys, Gordie Lachance. The story takes place in 1959, when the boys are 12 years old. The narrator is telling the story after being saddened by the death of one of his childhood friends.

There is a great dynamic among the 4 boys. Gordie Lachance, played by Wil Wheaton, is clearly the college-bound intellectual of the group and hence becomes the one that is narrating the story many years later. Gordie loves writing and story-telling and entertains his friends with the stories he tells, such as the one about Lardass and the pie-eating contest. However, Gordie is struggling in the shadow of his football star older brother who was killed just a few months before. Gordie's father clearly idolized the older brother and didn't have much use for Gordie and his writing.

Chris Chambers is the tough boy of the group, played by the late River Phoenix. He is Gordie's closest friend and the leader of the group. Although headed for a blue=collar future, Chris seems to have a lot of psychological insight and keeps assuring Gordie that he will be a great writer someday and that his father doesn't dislike him, he just doesn't know him.

Teddy Duchamp, played by Corey Feldmen, is the son of a soldier that survived storming the beach at Normandy. As such, he is a risk-taker, always looking for the rush of a challenge. His clothes reflect his military upbringing, from the OD shirt to the dog tags, to the pistol belt and combat boots. However, there are also references to his father being crazy and abusing Teddy, probably from post-traumatic stress, and we get the feeling Teddy has some emotional problems.

Vern Tessio, played by Jerry O'Connell, is somewhat slow and fat. His main concern was bringing a comb on the adventure so they could all look good in front of the cameras after finding the body of the missing boy.

All the boys are individually likeable, but as a group the collective "likeableness" is greatly multiplied as though they have a synergistic energy.

Most of the way the adventure is shot portrays the boys as these small visitors in the great outdoors, carrying nothing but their bedrolls and canteens. It makes them look like young Boy Scouts on their first campout in a giant Scout Reservation.

The adventure contains many moments that are the things nearly every young boy dreams about growing up. They tell stories around a campfire; they cook their food over the fire; they enjoy some smokes after eating; they have an encounter with leeches; and they have an encounter with the junkyard dog Chomper. However, the two most dramatic sequences include crossing a train trestle with a train bearing down on them; and standing up to a group of older boys.

There is a lot of comradeship demonstrated among the boys with hand-shaking and hands on the shoulders, joking, playful insults and talk of enjoying the endless summers, something that every boy dreams about.

Everyone knows what a "chick flick" is....well, this is a "guy flick".