Review of Stand by Me (1986) by Liam C — 26 Apr 2015

'Different Seasons' is certainly home to a great collection of stories and this is an excellent film adaptation, well worthy of the Oscar it was nominated for. 'Stand by Me', a title that made much more sense to the filmmakers, is a very personal and emotional film.

I thought, at first, that the fact that they were looking for a dead body should have been a secret that these characters stumbled upon whilst they went on a camping trip or something. And that they'd find the body in that lake they all fall into or that'd the body be in a big reservoir or a big lake like underneath those train tracks. But it would appear that I have seen one too many parodies of this story because the fact that we know what they are looking for makes the experience for them, and us, all the more different. You wouldn't think that you could get stressed out in a film like this but that train scene, boy, was that excellently crafted. I thought they could just lie down or step on the other rail if a train had have come but I had forgotten how big the train was. The lake scene was great as well, I think we could all work out that they were going to fall in but what happens later in that scene just looked painful. I thought the body would have been discovered there when they say that Vern had something on his neck but it wasn't and shouldn't they have all checked their underwear to see if they had anything? Ouch. Honestly though, the swearing didn't bother me, that's how real people talk and especially with the lack of parents around. No, what bothered me was the smoking. When it was introduced I thought that these weren't going to be likeable characters but that quickly changed, but I did notice how Gordie didn't smoke. Changed to make himself look better in his memoir? Or did he actually not smoke? Who knows? Although, they weren't smoking actual cigarettes either, thanks to Reiner. I did find it funny that there was a joke in there about how being a writer was stupid, given that Stephen King wrote the original story and it's a good job they didn't play around with that gun by pointing it at someone's head because that would have ended nastily for a supposedly empty gun and when the dog 'sick em up' I thought it sounded like 'stick em up' which would have worked in the '50s setting.

This cast is excellently chosen and it was even Jerry O'Connell's first film! The main 4 feel so real, they have all the wildly varying conversations a child would have at that time in their lives; and it isn't just Goofy that drove a car! You'd have thought that they would have been quiet when they thought there were about to be eaten by wolves but that's children! But that scene does end with a very powerful moment. These characters are excellently written and it is really great to see their journey. While I liked all the characters, and we know about all of them to some degree, although we know more about Gordie and Chris, for reasons the film gets into near the end, I couldn't really find myself liking Teddy all that much. While reminding me of a very young George McFly, I just found that he seemed to provoke everyone in the group and that he generally didn't have anything nice to say, especially when Gordie was telling them a story, (and when it ended the person in the story had a cherry in their ear, which I found funny and something that really fit in the story, although probably a coincidence). Again, I know they're young but you'd think that someone who got annoyed when that man in the junkyard called his dad a, 'loony, loony, loony', wouldn't call his friend a, 'pussy, pussy, pussy'. I thought he would be the one to sit next to Gordie when he was crying near the end just from the way that the conversation sounded but no, and it makes sense why it focuses on Gordie and Chris so much and the way this film ends really solidifies it and it hits hard. I thought I saw John Cusack in this film because of some images we see pretty quickly but a few seconds later, we do indeed see him and he turns out to be the only likeable supporting character. I thought it'd freeze on his name or who was revealed to be the older Gordie in the credits but it didn't. And Corey Feldman was in some classic teen-movies back in the day and they were all released back to back as well.

The only nitpicks I really have with it are the usual things that King does, like, the one dimensional bullies that literally have nothing better to do then annoy some children as well as the unsupportive parents. While Keifer Sutherland does a typically perfect job, Ace could have sped up and overtaken that truck instead of making it crash but of course, he's a bully, and they even carve tattoos with razor blades. However, with this film I think it works for a couple reasons, one is that it might be from the perspective of what a child sees and it conveys the message about expressing oneself and that we really should listen to our children and support whatever their passion is, well, within reason. Still, I did find it a bit odd that random adults characters just go on rants for no real reason, like the guy in the shop and the junkyard, while the one in the junkyard had some reason to, he still felt a tad mean but the guy in the shop wasn't actually mean to Gordie, he just went on a rant just because. And, yeah, I guess someone could say that the fact that they have this story right before they go back to school was a bit of coincidence but that's going a bit far. But, hey, at least it isn't set in Maine, so that's something. Also, the same year this film came out, 'It' came out which is home to the horrible parents and one dimensional bullies as well. Also, when Vern falls over on the train tracks, his comb looked a tad big. Also, I thought that the bullies were responsible for the death at the end, I know they said that they weren't going to forget what the children did but that would have been a bit extreme, I mean, they held a grudge for that long?

While I certainly liked the film a lot and was hugely invested throughout its running time, it really is the final few minutes of this film that really hit me like a tonne of bricks and I lost it. The final lines of this film, that aren't even spoken, really connected with me and the way the song fades in at the end, which I am glad happened because I was thinking about moments before it happened, coupled with the footage behind the credits is excellent. This film is absolutely timeless, well, besides the fact that you could get 4 cokes and some food for 2.50, but besides that, this film will live on forever. You go on a real journey with these characters; sad, happy, angry, scared, you go through it all with these characters. I honestly can't listen to the song performed by Ben E. King the same way anymore and that's a hallmark of a pitch-perfect film; it fits the film to an absolute T. A lot of the charm of this film is how it resonates with us personally and how it has us reflect on our own lives but besides just depending on that, there is a deeply warm, personal story at its centre that we can all relate to. Even though for the 4 main actors this still remains the most famous film they are known for, besides River for obvious reasons, I hope they remember this film and be proud that they were a part of something this powerful and heartfelt. 'Stand by Me', which is a much better title for something like this, as well, is an excellent film, I'm so glad I've finally seen it and it is another film off of the list.