Review of Stand by Me (1986) by Garrett R — 31 May 2011

STAND BY ME is a fully immersive, character-driven Stephen King adaptation (of his short novella of the same name) packed with quotable dialogue and acting so good it beats out most modern actors in this time and day. With a 80s dream team cast including River Phoenix (Young Indy in LAST CRUSADE), Jerry O'Connell, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Kiefer Sutherland (THE LOST BOYS, 24, Hulu's THE CONFESSIONAL) and Rob Reiner directing, a classic was born and is still considered one.

Rob Reiner's 1986 film feels like a trip back in time, to a time and era where life was simpler, right and wrong was distinguishable, and the bond of friendship can lead one to go on treks that can be as adventurous as they are dangerous.

STAND BY ME was made at the right time, with the right actors and the right director. The 80s (to the best of my knowledge) was boom time for kid-oriented films, realism (STAND BY ME) or fantasy-based (THE GOONIES, E.T.). Directors were going for these projects like nobody's business, and producers (or directors) such as Steven Spielberg was more than happy to produce and direct these films (when he wasn't filming INDY pictures, THE COLOR PURPLE, etc.).

STAND BY ME was the exception to kid-oriented films, as the film was based off of a Stephen King novella. Its coarse language spoken by the four best friends and the gang was atypical for the 1980's, yet STAND BY ME'S lasting appeal has come from the four main actors chemistry and repartee. Plus the story is high-quality, given King's catalogue and writing abilities.

The main four actors in STAND BY ME play their characters with a true essence for the time period and feel for their characters' personalities and plights. River Phoenix as Chris Chambers knows he's from a belittled family, but that doesn't stop him from being a good guy. Wil Wheaton as Gordie LeChance (who Richard Dreyfuss (!) as the older Gordie narrates the proceedings occasionally) is a sensitive, reserved boy whose brother was everything he was not: outgoing, popular, a high-school football wonder, and well-respected. Gordie's brother unfortunately died in a car accident, and his family was left in tatters. Gordie's heart is heavy, but he continues on. Corey Feldman as the talkative, kind-of nuts Teddy DuChamp talks faster than he thinks, and just as his other best friends has family problems that he wish would go away. And lastly, Jerry O'Connell as Vern is endearing and is the kind of kid who can be picked on, and then the teasers will have a laugh about it.

The main story revolves around the words Vern heard while under a porch (for a reason). A dead body of a twelve-year old boy named Bowers could be found many miles outside of Vern and his friends' hometown: Castle Rock, Oregon. So Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern set out on foot to find the dead body, led on by a sense that mystery and danger lies ahead of them, and that they're willing to journey on to take the necessary risks.

Everything in STAND BY ME clicks like a young boy snapping his fingers to the tune "Lollipop". It is a fully-immersive, character-driven film whose main actors develop their characters and deliver their quotable dialogue to such a high pedigree that they'll stick in your memory with their chemistry and repartee. See it, if you haven't, then "drop dead!".