This is one of the best King adaptations ever. The 4 leads are excellent together and extremely believable as friends. R.I.P. River Phoenix, I can only imagine how great he could’ve become.
He would have been a two-time Oscar winner or nominee at least by now. His death only makes this film more powerful than it should be. I'm grateful that the film inspired me to become a writer because I saw a lot of myself in Gordie.
"I never had any friends like the ones I did when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" That line hits SO hard when you rewatch this movie as an adult. This is a very faithful adaptation of the King novella. One of the only changes I recall (it's been a while since I read it) was in the book, all three of the friends had died in the present day.
Saddest part is about how life causes even great friends to drift apart. Something you really don't think about until years after it happens is that one day someone you knew turned left, you turned right and that was the last time you ever saw them.
River Phoenix and Corey Feldman are some of the best examples of childhood stars being ruined by the Hollywood life. Can only imagine River Phoenix would have become one of the biggest actors in Hollywood.
Well, maybe River experienced some of that childhood r@pe that Corey Feldman and so many others talked going on then (and probably still now) about also. Maybe that's what pushed him into drugs.
It's really sad. Both of them had a lot of talent, River especially. But this comment also leads me to another reason why this movie is one of my favorites: According to the kids actors, their experience shooting this movie was wonderful. No scandals coming out years later, it was a fun summer hanging out with friends for them.
I watched this when it came out and I was exactly 12 at the time. Besides the highly relatable themes of friendship, approval, grief etc (which at that age you'd become increasingly aware of), this movie taught me to 1) be deathly afraid of leeches (thankfully they're not a huge deal here in Sweden) and 2) never, ever, walk ON train tracks
A star making performance from River Phoenix. Imagine how his career would have soared to today. And although he's seen as a washed up has-been today, people forget how good Corey Feldman was back in the 80s. The scene where he fantasizes about joining the Army Rangers is subtle but melancholy. He yearns to escape, probably, a broken home.
Yeah, right at the end. as Dreyfus is talking about Chris Chambers being killed, it hit me again that River was dead & I was stuck for a second, thinking about what he might’ve been able to do.
Yes, Samantha.. The 80s were such a Blast to grow up in and the cool thing is that we all pretty much knew it while we were in it, which rarely happens in life!
A classic movie! It hits particularly hard at the end when he talks about how Chris died, knowing how young River was when he died, it always chokes me up a bit. Kiefer Sutherland always gives excellent villain.
The Goonies is a blast. It's got the same adventurous spirit of Indiana Jones, but I dont think its trying to be Indiana Jones for kids. It has some great comedy and it made my 10 yr old son laugh out loud several times. I love how the child actors interact so convincingly in that one as well, but Stand By Me has perfect performances from the four stars.
@@stevem.1853 yes, I think the second Indiana Jones was the reason they made the PG-13 because it almost got an R and Speilberg and the studio had to fight to get the PG rating... I think Red Dawn was the first PG-13 movie
In Sweden this was a movie we went to see at the cinema with school and then latwe again on tv in school. Also watched it in film class in my teenage years. Doesn't matter how many times I watch this movie, the ending always makes me cry. Amazing movie. Very emotional movie that makes one reflect over childhood friends.
Just in case, you didn't already know. Chris Chambers is played by River Phoenix (brother of Joaquin) who died a very early and sad death on the sidewalk in front of a club co-owned by Johnny Depp. Gordie is played by Wil Wheaton, probably best known as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Vern, the chubby kid, is played by Jerry O'Connell, never a big star but a working actor who has been married to model Rebecca Romijn since 2007. Then, of course, Teddy, played by Corey Feldman. And you did seem to recognize Keifer.
For their generation, it would be more likely that they would associate Wil Wheaton with The Big Bang Theory. I don’t know if I would say Jerry was never a big star, He got to star in a video which was a #1 single, with Mariah Carey, and he had a successful series Sliders which ran for 5 years. 131 roles under your belt is more than a lot of actors ever get.
I love Stand by me. Those last few minutes are like a kick in the Stomach everytime. Especially the cross over to real life how River passed away. Also the realisation of the way friends take different paths in life and drift apart. I first watched Stand by me when I was 11/12 and I've seen it more times than I can remember in the past 30 years and the one thing that has bothered me all these years is that Gordy didn't get his hat back.
This movie is an absolute classic. It helped me a lot growing up. Middle and High School especially. I had friends like these and just like in the movie, we all eventually drifted apart. Some memories growing up are painful and some were amazing- but this movie always resonated with me because it was so real and so relatable. I’ve seen many movies over the years, but I continually go back to this one. I never get bored and I never get tired of watching it. Even though I can quote it by heart- it will never get old. “Stand by Me” is without a doubt my favorite movie.
Yea it seems as if when you find out about a childhood friend’s family traumas, they want to distance themselves from the people they were most vulnerable to. 🤷♂️
We had the soundtrack when my mom and two sisters went on a trip with our friends from down the block. Played it over and over again. My mom and her friend loved it cuz it’s songs from their childhood, and we loved it because it was new songs for our childhood.
RIP, River Phoenix, 1970-1993. He was the older brother to Joaquin Phoenix. He was 23. He died of a drug intoxication. He was cast as the interviewer in the Anne Rice movie INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, but his friend Christian Slater was cast and the film was dedicated in his memory
also I read Christian Slater, not wanting to profit in any way from his friend's death, gave the salary for his relatively small part, 250 000 USD, to charity
Quick trivia for you guys... The Royal River, where the kids were walking is the same river that Andy Dufresne threw his gun into before being sent to Shawshank. Also, after this story, Ace (Keifer Sutherland's character) ended up doing time in Shawshank as well. Both Shawshank and this story are from the same book.
I just wanted to say yet again great reaction. once again your breakdown and insight at the end was top notch. It's great watching people who are intelligent enough and articulated enough to get many aspects of the films they watch. I watch a alot of reaction channels and it surprises me how much they miss or don't interpret correctly. I hope you are seeing channel growth and your efforts are rewarded. keep up the good work and good luck reaching 100k subscribers.
This is a phenomenal 80's coming-of-age movie although River was in two from that decade & the other is sadly all too forgotten about, the very underrated Running On Empty.
This is my all time #1. I used to watch it over and over as a kid. Now I actually live really close to where a lot of this was filmed. Such a great movie.
The chubby kid Vern is Jerry O'Connell from "Sliders". You should watch him in MTV's first live-action film "Joe's Apartment". It's absolutely hilarious!
Another great coming of age type film (also set around the same time period (late 50s/early 60s) as Stand By Me) is the film 'American Graffiti' (1973) - which also features Richard Dreyfus (Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Stand By Me, Stakeout, What About Bob, Mr. Holland's Opus) - along with Ron Howard (TV's The Andy Griffith Show, TV's Happy Days), Cindy Williams (TV's Laverne & Shirley), Harrison Ford (Star Wars/Han Solo, Indiana Jones, The Fugitive, Air Force One, Patriot Games, Witness), Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables, Starman), Mackenzie Phillips (TV's One Day At A Time), Paul Le Mat (Melvin & Howard, Puppet Master), Candy Clark (The Man Who Fell To Earth, Blue Thunder), Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13, Twilights Zone: The Movie), Suzanne Somers (TV's Three's Company, TV's Step By Step) & Wolfman Jack (legendary radio DJ)...Written & Directed by George Lucas (Star Wars, Willow, Howard The Duck,The Radioland Murders, Indiana Jones & Young Indiana Jones) and produced by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now).
I can relate to the drifting apart theme. In one case long ago, I had a pair of cousins, a brother & sister, whom I'd been very close to in childhood; when we went to high school, that abruptly ended: I got nothing from them but aloof nods in the hallways from then on. It hurt, but it showed me the truth of what they really thought of me. And I believe it's best to know even the hardest truths. It somewhat eases the pain if one can consider such people long-dead.
One thing that is kind of implied by the kid being his "first dead body" is that his brother had a closed casket and through that he was unable to get closure. As mentioned in your breakdown the dead boy served as a way for him to get that closure.
And why does one have a closed casket? Generally, because the body is mutilated in a way that would be disturbing for the mourners to see, and that can't be repaired by the mortician.
The ending definitely hits even harder with the sudden & tragic loss of River. One of the best King adaptations out there, so glad you finally checked it out, been hoping you would for so long. Yes, please react to The Goonies!!! Great reaction as always, I still cried at the ending along with Sam. 💔❤🩹
It's great to see you post the results of your patreon polls and judging by this particular list, you've got some truly amazing movies and reactions ahead of you guys when you get around to watching them. Some of my favourite coming of age movies are Road to perdition, scum, the breakfast club, love and basketball, blue is the warmest colour, this is england, girl interrupted, Sleepers, Scent of a woman, city of god, the secret garden, a perfect world.
Jerry O'Connell (Vern) said that the only way his mom got him to audition for this movie is that "the guy from All in the Family is directing it." When he walked in and saw Rob Reiner, he told his mom, "That's not Archie!" He thinks that's why he got the part; he WAS Vern. LOL
Castle Rock is a town that a lot of Stephen King books and films take place in- most notably this, The Dead Zone, Cujo, and Needful Thjngs. In the books and most of the films it’s located in central Maine. The screenwriter made a mistake when adapting this to the screen- confusing the Portland (Maine) mentioned in the story with Portland, Oregon. After this film was a success Rob Reiner started a production company called Castle Rock Pictures which you’ve probably seen the logo for before. Several Stephen King movies as well as many other films and tv shows have been produced under this banner. There is also a series on Hulu called Castle Rock inspired by many elements of Stephen King’s work.
This film holds a really strong hold for me. Growing up in the 80s this really touched a close nerve. Our little gang of friends were so close and did stuff like this. Then life kicked in and prison, addictions kicked in and we all spread apart. The loss of innocence and how life is tough it really had an impact.
"The Goonies" is a good one but I always go with "Monster Squad" instead. But "Stand By Me" is on its own level. It's way more adult oriented. The soundtrack is incredible as well. I'm so glad you guys finally watched this. River Phoenix was an incredible actor. May he rest in peace.
Stand By Me, Goonies, Sandlot, Monster Squad, It, Super Eight, The Might Ducks, Bad News Bears and Now and Then. Freaks and Geeks for TV show. Best shows featuring mainly kids.
As soon as I saw what the movie was, I could tell which scene was being reacted to in the thumbnail! Sam, Dan managed to survive watching Archnophobia, so I guess this was your turn to suffer! Stand By Me has got the be the best portrayal of childhood that I’ve seen in a movie, and probably the best ensemble acting by kids… but damn guys, get The Goonies watched! It’s the *other* best portrayal of childhood I’ve ever seen in a movie 😁 As for growing up in the 80s, yeah, it was the best for pop culture! Movies have just never been as purely entertaining as they were during that decade, and I’m glad you guys are getting to experience that via this channel… and that we’re getting to relive it through you!
River Phoenix was such an incredible actor for His age. He would have become one of the best probably. Sad, he died too soon. His Brother Joaquin Phoenix became one of the best actors of his Generation. Talented Family. Stand by Me is such a great movie. I don't know how often I have seen it already. In Germany, were I was born and live it is a beloved movie, too. I don't know anyone who doesn't like this movie.
Stephen King really manages to encapsulate small town dysfunctional families and the trauma that children experience because of them, but they also manage to find solace through friendship. IT has a similar feel. I always wonder if he had a similar life or had friends who did because he seems to "get it".
Castle Rock is one of Stephen King's fictional Maine towns (although for the movie, they moved it to Oregon). He also has Derry, Maine, where Pennywise lurks in the sewers. Reiner named his production company after it.
I remember in an interview, Keifer Sutherland originally wanted to put on Denny's cap after Ace stole it. Reiner said, "he threw it awayimmediately, he didn't care about the hat." And Sutherland was so mad at his own character and had hoped Gordy got the lucky cap back somehow.
I saw this in the theater when I was 9 years old the weekend before the first day of school. I was the perfect audience for this film. One thing I noticed after this film came out is that half the boys in my class got 50's style haircuts. Love this film.
Really enjoyed watching your reactions to this. I recommend The Mosquito Coast or Running on Empty for more River Phoenix films. Harrison Ford does his best work in The Mosquito Coast - he's completely unhinged.
2:59, Jerry O'Connell! Lol! Richard Dreyfuss did a spoof of this movie with Seth MacFarlane on Family Guy called Three Kings which spoofs Stand By Me, Misery and Shawshank Redemption. He says, "The fat kid from Stand By Me is married to Rebecca Romijn! Isn't that something? Doesn't that piss you off!?" Lol!!
This was on television all the time when I was growing up so I've seen it a bunch of times. The scenes that stuck with me as a kid was the junkyard chase, the pie eating contest, and running across the train bridge. I think I appreciate it more now than I did as a child, but that's partially just appreciation for all the actors and what they went on to do. I'd absolutely say you should watch The Goonies (1985) if you haven't seen it yet! Another film from the 1980s I'd been thinking about recently, due to the death of Irene Cara, is Flashdance (1983). I think you'd both enjoy either of those films.
Growing up in the 70's, I did an awful lot of walking and it was just normal. I'm sure it was even more so in the 50's. My dad took me to visit his friend who had a ranch 10 miles from the Mexican border when I was 11. The man had a son my age, his name was Clifford. Clifford and I walked all the way to Mexico and back in just 6 or 7 hours, and we even took time to investigate an old house that was dug into a hillside. This movie always reminds me of that weekend, because it was like he and I had been friends forever, but then we never met again. Just a perfect, 48-hour friendship.
Read somewhere that when Rob Reiner, the director, screened the movie for Stephen King, King was shaking and had tears running down his cheeks. Afterwards he left for a while and came back to tell it was the best adaptation of his work. King used a lot of his own childhood memories in Stand By Me (the short story is called The Body). Castle Rock is a made up town by Stephen King and a lot of his stories take place in that town like Cujo and more.
A bunch of years ago, one of the bars in my area started a "movie-oke" night once per week. Just like karaoke, except using DVDs with subtitles instead of songs. People would order drinks and then pick a scene from a catalog, and then take turns onstage acting out the scene while the DVD played on a projector. There were regulars and there were people who only came in once, but every night--EVERY NIGHT without fail--somebody would pick a scene from The Goonies. Obviously it's a childhood favorite for many. I'm sure you'll love it.
A lot of us 80's kids can relate to 50's kids. Our parents would just let us play outside all day and if you slept over your friends house I can remember regularly not seeing my folks all weekend and being back in time for lunch on Sunday evenings which left a lot of time for exploring the nature all around us. With cellphones and video games coming in towards the tail end of the 80's it seems like that generation is now gone but I might be wrong about that
Thank you for doing this movie. In my opinion, one of the greatest stories on screen ever. The Goonies is an 80’s classic. Although I enjoy Stand By Me more, Goonies is still a must see.
The fact that the movie says Chris Chambers was stabbed in the news paper and introduces Chris Chambers in the tree house by name ... Even when I first watched the movie, I didn't catch it, so the ending killed me too.
4:19, John Cusack! He would play the lead in Stephen King's 1408. It's about a haunted hotel room and has been regarded as one of Stephen King's best horror films.
Great movie. This movie is always kind of sad considering Reaver Phonix died in real life. Another great kid adventure movie is Flight Of The Navigator . A great coming of age movie (With older people not kids) no one reacted to is Big Wednesday. Also another Rob Riener great movie is When Harry Met Sally. The actor who plays Vern is Jerry O'Connell and plays on The Big Bang Theory , Sliders and Jerry Macgvyer. Gordey mom is from Gremlins and Back From The Future. Gordey Dad is from Twins and Total Recall
When this film came out, people in rural areas all over the country had to put up "guards" (wire or wood) on their mailboxes to keep idiots from playing mailbox baseball.
I've been to all these filming locations. That bridge is actually a popular cliffjumping spot, and was so before Stand By Me was filmed. I didn't have the guts to jump because it could've cost me a spot in the adventuresports industry (an industry I enjoy working in) if something went wrong, being the only one there with CPR and water rescue certifications while the strangers who claimed to have jumped hadn't done a depth check, didn't jump in front of me, and were more concerned about consequences with their fathers if someone jumped on their encouragement and got hurt than consequences with their career I was worried about. I say that's the moment I became an adult: going from "what addrenaline rush can I get" to "what could this mean for my career". A real life coming of age story that took place at the bridge from Stand By Me. Also the big bridge is in Burney Falls, California. About 5 hours south of Castle Rock, Oregon (also known as Brownsville, Oregon).
On the thumbnail she's covering her eyes and he's laughing, I was thinking what part could that be? 🤣 Yes, 100% on watching the 80's classic "The Goonies"
😢To this day I cannot watch any River Phoenix film bc his untimely death was such a gut punch. I bawled when Joaquin Phoenix mentioned him in his Oscar acceptance speech, “When he was 17, my brother [River] wrote this lyric. He said: ‘run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.’”❤
A good indicator of how similar this movie is to "Now And Then" is that I was sure Brendan Fraser was in "Stand By Me" when he was actually in "Now And Then".
I'm glad you guys got to see this and that you enjoyed it so much. It really is excellent through and through. There's nothing quite like the impact of seeing this as a young boy the same age as they were. It just hits you differently. Like you guys said, it felt real. My best friend at the time was so much like Chris in attitude and spirit. Thankfully, he's still alive and we still talk. But that last line of the movie makes me cry like a baby every single time. I realize I'm kind of rambling here. I apologize. I always get thrown for a loop from the emotional impact of this movie.
32:40 - That's why "The Goonies" is such a great movie, the grand adventure we'd all loved to have had at that age.. Highly recommend, "Donnie Darko" btw, would be most interested to see your always excellent post-watch discussion for that one. 8)
I love Stand By Me, so heartwarming yet so heartbreaking. Probably my favourite Stephen King flixk on the silver screen together with Shawshank. Rob Reiner outdoes himself yet again. I truly recommend reading King's novella 'The Body' for a good read, but also because it has many similarities to the movie, yet is still different.
The structure of the story is quite simple and symbolic: the train is the passing of time, the boys grow older and more mature as they walk along the track, occasionally have to dodge the oncoming train, and looming at the end of the track is a dead body
Somebody probably already mentioned that Jerry O'Connell AKA Vern ended up being a pretty known star in his own right, he got a big break as a police officer in Crossing Jordan, which was a crime drama TV show about a medical examiner in Boston, and then he went on to do a lot of TV shows & films. He was also pretty big in a TV show called Sliders, which was kind of like Quantum Leap with an ensemble cast. He said he just didn't want to be remembered as the fat kid, LOL. All of these kids were big in their day. Will Wheaton AKA Gordie was of course in Star Trek the Next Generation, and is now basically a big mover and shaker in the Sci-Fi / nerd realm, and is considered kind of cult figure along with people like Seth Green. Corey Feldman AKA Teddy really went through it in the 80's and 90's and had a really rough time, it kind of is an arc that follows his character here in some ways. He just never got a break. But River Phoenix was something else entirely. He was one of the best actors in the entire twentieth century, and it's just tragic that we didn't get to see more of his work as an adult. If you want to see his best work (arguably anyway), watch My Own Private Idaho with Keanu Reeves. In a way though it's kind of creepy how everybody's arc IRL kind of echoes their characters in this film; like the actor for Vern did decently well and made a decent name for himself, but wasn't like amazing or anything, Teddy's actor never got a break and had a really rough life, Gordy's actor made a name for himself in an artistic field and is well known in his field, and Chris's actor, who was extremely talented and promising, died young. It's kind of disturbing actually. This, the Shawshank Redemption, & The Green Mile are probably the best adaptations of Stephen King's work aside from maybe Misery. Very few adaptations of his actual novels are as good as the adaptations of his short stories for some reason. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to be true.
So so glad you both watched this great gem of a movie. Everyone has childhood experiences to cherish, and we all look back at those times throughout life. If you want another drama coming of age film, strongly suggest "Beaches". Its a film from 1988 that Sam will truely love.
Glad you brought up "Now and Then" Samantha. I've always called that "Stand By Me but girls". Looks like we need a "Husband's first time watching" episode I love that movie
The real sad thing about Teddy and his dad, was his dad was a World War 2 vet who "stormed the beaches of Normandy". Incase you dont know what that means, Teddys dad was on the beaches depicted in the first 20 minutes of saving private ryan. Probably one of the few 1st wave men who went from start to finish. There was no post war therapy. The dad obviously suffered from trauma, took it out/abused his son and was locked up in a "looney bin".
This movie and THE SANDLOT were such amazing "coming of age" movies for me (as a teenager growing up in the 80's) ... GOOD WILL HUNTING was coming to terms with being an adult. These are amazing movies.
