Stand By Me First Time Watching Reaction 

This is one of those rare movies I feel.. EVERYONE should watch at least once in their life! :) Great reaction as always James!

Some interesting stories that I love that are related to this film: 1. Jerry O'Connell (Vern) was 11 years old when this film was made. He said that his favorite part of making the film was being allowed to curse. 2. River Phoenix (Chris) tragically died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 on Halloween night 1993. Had he lived, he probably would have been one of the greatest actors of his generation. In 1988, when he was only 18 years old, he received an Oscar nomination for the Supporting Actor category. 3. River Phoenix's younger brother is Joaquin Phoenix, who is a big name actor now. He was the actor who played Joker a few years ago, and won an Oscar for that. 4. You've seen Richard Dreyfuss (the narrator) before - he was the scientist in Jaws. He and director Rob Reiner grew up as close friends, from what I've heard. 5. The original short story takes place in Maine, not Oregon. 6. Kiefer Sutherland (Ace) comes from an acting family as well - his father Donald Sutherland is also a well-known actor. 7. The actors who played Gordie's parents in the film later married each other in real life.

A great movie, based on a great Stephen King story. One of my all time favorites. When you're flipping coins, if everyone in the group gets heads, it's a "moon," and it's really good luck. if it's all tails, it's a "goocher," and it's super bad luck. I know this because the book explained it; it may just be a Maine thing. The book points out that the second flip, Gordie's coin came up heads, but the other three still had a goocher, and ended up with terrible luck.

The main four actors are great especially Wil and River. The talk about the money and Chris' death make me cry every time. The world lost a huge talent when River died.

One of my favorites . Surprised more channels haven't reacted to it this summer . Another of my fav movies dealing with a gang of kids is The Outsiders ( 1983 )

Another great reaction. I would recommend "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993). It stars Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Juliette Lewis. It takes place in a small town where the Grape family is troubled and fodder for the town's gossip. Good film and an 18 year old Leonardo DiCaprio got his first oscar nomination.

One of my favorite films. The unbelievable cast, writing and direction made it unforgettable. Simple yet effective storytelling. RIP River Pheonix, you're still missed 🙏💚✨

RIP River. I feel like he would have had a similar career as Leonardo DiCaprio.

The soundtrack is one of my favorites. Up there with Forest Gump and the Lost Boys. Rob Reiner has directed 3 in my top 20. This movie, the Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally.

I saw this movie when it came out in the theater, I went with my two best friends, we were the same age as the kids in Stand By Me, my one friend looked exactly like Vern...I mean exactly, down to the buzz haircut and red cheeks. Even then I knew this movie was something special, that it had a wisdom I appreciated then but also knew I'd only grow to appreciate more the older I got. This remains one of my favorite movies and means a lot to me. I was very lucky growing up. I lived in the suburbs but still there was no real places close enough to my home back then...however my grandmother lived in a condo and the community swimming pool, public library, local mall (with a 6 screen movie theater, video game arcade, toy stores, book stores) were all within blocks of one another. There'd be summers when I was like 12, 13, and 14 when I'd get dropped off at the pool by my mom at 11am and I'd have a change of clothes with me...sometimes I wouldn't be home for a week. Grandma loved the company and didn't mind me crashing there at night after swimming, seeing movies, playing games and other stuff during the day. When I ran out of money I just borrowed some books from the library or made sure I had enough to buy one I wanted at Crown Books and spent the rest of the time reading and enjoying the snacks Grandma always kept for me at her place. Like Vern said, it was really a good time. Have you seen the movie The Goonies? I can't remember if you've reacted to that one yet or not. If not, you have to! The Goonies is the yin to Stand By Me's yang. Each of the boys has a counterpart, stories parallel each other...Stand By Me is the serious and deep movie but there are moments of comedy and light hearted adventure. The Goonies is a light hearted adventure with loads of comedy but also with moments of deep seriousness. These movies are two sides of the same coin and they are both great! Some other great coming of age movies...they will slide further one way or the other between comedy and drama: The Sandlot (1993) American Graffiti (if you like the Stand By Me soundtrack you'll love this one too!) (1971) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) My Girl (1991) Can't Hardly Wait (1998) Risky Business (1983) Better Off Dead (1985) Best Regards!!!

The scene with Chris talking about wanting to go somewhere where nobody knows him is easily one of my favorites of all time. My story was a lot less complicated than his, but I absolutely felt the same way when I was 19. I wasn’t consciously trying to get away from anything specific, I just knew without question that I wasn’t in the right place. I got out and it was the most important decision I’ve made so far in 26 years of life. I’m glad Chris got out of his world too ❤️

The thing about Superman being a real person is a reference to the Adventures of Superman, a live action TV series which ran from 1952 - 1958. The movie was set in 1959, so the kids would have been well aware of the show. Mighty Mouse was a Superman-like cartoon character who happened to be a mouse, thus their debate over which would win in a fight.

Rob Reiner, director of this, also directed what I most often cite as my favorite all-time movie The Princess Bride. Already on your list. If you like the naturalistic dialogue like when they're talking about Mighty Mouse... you'd probably like a lot of Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith films, they both have tons of that sort of thing. Tarantino's entire filmography is worth checking out but his first big break and probably best example of that sort of dialogue-laden film is Pulp Fiction. Smith got most famous for his very very gritty low-budget indy movie Clerks.

You brought up how much you love reading. The actor (Will Wheaton) who plays the main kid, Gordy, has a book on the New York Times Bestsellers list. I just listened to a podcast he was on two weeks ago. It was incredibly interesting.

'Hey everybody, it's James. How you doing todaay?' Great catchphrase, don't change it. If a film is a coming of age film today, it's the coming of age of a superhero. I miss films that are about average people with great challenges to face that reflect our own struggles.

Jerry O’Connell (Vern) played Sheldon’s brother on Big Bang Theory.

The kid with the messed up ear is Corey Feldman. He was very popular in the '80s and you should have recognized him; he's "Mouth" from the Goonies.

They mentioned in passing that his brother had died in a Jeep accident. I assumed he had gone into the army and the accident happened on base rather than in combat. The story takes place in 1959 which would coincide with the very beginning of the Vietnam war. Another movie you might want to look into is "The Sandlot". It is another coming of age story and is very similar to this one in many ways, dealing with a group of boys at this stage of life, but in 1962 and with a distinct plot. (No dead bodies.)

Classic Americana, growing up in the Pacific Northwest this movie/cast hits home

The Outsiders (1983) High School aged kids, late 50’s era. Great movie

They do a Stand By Me day in Brownsville Oregon ( Castlerock ) every July 23rd. Classic cars, dress up as characters, pie eating contest, they show the movie in the park. It's pretty fun.

One of my favorites.I was about that age when the movie came out.I lived near Osceola Iowa and had an awesome friend I had met recently.we bonded over this movie.later on we lost track of each other,but I've never forgotten.

Sandlot a baseball coming of age movie that takes place in the 1950's is amazing I guarantee you'll love it. Such a good wholesome movie that's not made anymore please watch it.

Teddy (the kid with the glasses) was also in Goonies. The narrator is Richard Dreyfuss, who played Hooper the marine biologist in Jaws.

This is a coming of age feel good movie that will make you feel like a kid again.

The song they were singing was the main theme from a popular western show named "Have Gun - Will Travel" that aired through the late 50's and early 60's, and starred Richard Boone. I personally am a huge fan of the old western serials from those days, and always appreciate when those shows are referenced like that.

I love this movie, such a classic. Reminds me of the Goonies a little with the adventure plot line

THIS, Ghostbusters and La Bamba was the first VHS tapes my family owned. I wore a hole through this video tape playing it repeatedly. Stand By Me is SUCH a piece of my childhood

Stephen King is primarily known as a horror writer, but some of his best works are dramatic stories like this one, and those make excellent film adaptations. He also wrote The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption. Both have been made into terrific films.

Hey James, I live in Chicago and when me and my bestie were kids her uncle worked for the Hyatt hotel and ever year they had a carnival in the lower level of the hotel. In the basement, I'm guessing where they would have big events/conventions. And they had a pie eating contest and my bestie entered ever year, she never won but it definitely was fun watching her and the other contestants. She would have pie all up her nose👃🏾and in her ears👃🏾and hair 😝 😆. And unfortunately there are no pictures and this was way before social media, but they were great memories. By the way awesome reaction 🤗

I love this movie so much because it always brings back such fond childhood memories for me that I love to revel in and wouldn't want to miss any of them. Thanks to you for this great Reaction and to all Patreons for this great choice.

The first song they were singing was 'Paladin' a song from a weekly TV show. about a gunslinger (black and white) Mighty Mouse was a cartoon character with the same super powers as Superman. He was drawn with his costume always on and he was ready to fight evil all time.. The song Lollipop was sung in 1958 by the 'Chordettes' I remember hearing it on the radio as late as 1963 . The song dates the movie to about 1960 . Many of the vehicles were overly aged with wear and some that were setting in the junk piles hadn't even been made at the time.

You are like one of my prime demographics to watch a reaction to this movie. You being an 80s baby/kid and a guy AND a father, 👌. This is my favorite movie of all time and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I was 17 when this movie first came out! Still love it to this day!

As mentioned by others, River Phoenix (Chris) died very young but was very very talented. Another movie he was in was "Sneakers (1992)" with an all-star cast Ben Kingsley, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd and Robert Redford. His younger brother, Joaquin Phoenix, took up acting as well and won an Oscar for "Joker (2019)" Jerry O'Connell (Vern) voiced Superman in a series of animation films and was the star of a TV superhero series "My Secret Identity." Kiefer Sutherland (Ace) became super famous as well. He starred in "The Lost Boys (1987)" along with Corey Feldman (Teddy). Kiefer also was in a hit TV series he co-produced "24" -- the concept here is insane -- where the whole season is just one 24-hour day. Very intense and very marathon-watch inducing.

Loved the truth in these Characters! Really glad this was picked!! ♥️✌🏻☀️

LOL Superman is real because he was in a live-action TV show in the '50s, played by George Reeve. Mighty Mouse was indeed a cartoon character, he had a red-and-yellow super suit, and was the size of a mouse, but would save troubled humans or mice-people. He had a red comet-tail streaming out behind him when he flew, and could easily carry a half-dozen elephants.

Fun fact: Ray Browner was at the pie eating contest, he was behind the twin boys

If you have seen a majority of The Big Bang Theory episodes, Jerry O'Connell plays Georgie (Sheldon's brother).

I grew up in the 70's and like these kids my cousins and I spent our time like these boys. We lived in a small town in Wisconsin on the Mississippi River. We would head out in the morning for all day adventures, fishing, swimming and walking the railroad tracks picking up iron ore pellets for our slingshots. Not a care in the world it was a great childhood.

This one always sticks with me. I wish I could have had friends like that.

Thanks for the reaction. I think the movie resonates with viewers the older we get. I love this movie but at the same time it makes me sad that we'll never be able to see what River Phoenix would have been able to accomplish had he not passed. An absolute waste of talent..... Again thanks. Take care!

This was one of my favorite films when I was a kid. Such good acting from the kids. Especially by River Phoenix.

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 .You can alternatively try another Rob Reiner great classic romantic adventure movie The Princess Bride. A great movie both for girls and boys.

Another unforgettable movie. God, i miss the 80s.

My goodness that’s the first time I ever saw that like you sir and I’m glad I watched it With you …….

Hope you’re having a great day! Always great to see an upload from you.

My closest friends and I were all 11 years old when Stand By Me was released. We had all met at the age of 5 in Head Start. From our very first viewing we immediately loved it. We grew up in a small town, not unlike Castle Rock, in the mountains of northeastern Alabama. We often went on adventures such as weekends spent camping in the local woods by ourselves. Times were different back then, to be sure. By that age, we were already fairly self reliant and had parents who recognized this. During summer break from school it wasn't uncommon to leave out after breakfast (8am-ish) and not return until dusk (8pm-ish). We would construct teepees (dig the ground out, cut 10ft-ish poles, tether one end of those poles together, use a waterproof tarp or the like as covering, cut and tie entrance flaps, even construct a small fire pit that included a working chimney, then chill out inside), build tree houses, swing like Tarzan over creeks and ravines using vines, dig and construct underground hideouts (typically just big enough for 3 of us to hang out in), as well as many other fun activities. We also have fallen prey to leeches whilst swimming but luckily didn't end up with any on our twigs 'n berries lol I'll be 47 next month, and I'm still close with several of those same friends; as a matter of fact, I was just chatting with one of them earlier this evening. We often reference and quote favorite films, and Stand By Me definitely fits that bill. On a side note, here's just a few "fun" facts regarding this movie and The Body (the name of the novella Stand By Me was adapted from). 1. Stephen King has affirmed that the leech story was actually true and from his childhood, though it was one of his friends who got the proverbial short end of the stick (pun intended lol). 2. Ace's gang did get revenge on the boys later on. Billy hit Vern-o a couple times but freaked out and stopped when one of them K.O.ed his younger bro. A few of Ace's gang surrounded Teddy, but he started acting nuts...and they decided to leave him alone after that. Chris was observed walking down a road in Castle Rock reading an Archie comic book and bleeding from his ear. Gordy was kicked in the balls so hard that they swelled up and were almost ruptured. 3. In The Body, Teddy and Vern also died young not only Chris. Vern-o fell asleep while (I think) smoking, dreaming about his jar o' pennies probably, and passed away in an apartment fire. Teddy was with some of his friends, passing around a bottle of Popov vodka while driving. Teddy lost control and hit a telephone pole, killing everyone in the car and earning him the Asshole Of The Year award..Thus, the 2nd coin flip in the junkyard, the 3-way goocher, was fulfilled. Great reaction to a awesome film! Keep rockin' and stay heavy! Wishing everyone peace, love, and good happiness stuff from the mountains of northeastern Alabama! 🤘

It was filmed in and around Brownsville Oregon but the bridge scene with the train which was filmed in California.

I had an incident similar to this as a kid.. 😔 This suggestion is for Night At The Museum, from 2006. My next suggestion is for an animated film from the 80s....

You may have already heard this, but the actor who plays Vern has also been on the Big Bang Theory. He plays Sheldon’s brother. The one who runs the Tire store.

the swamp set was a pool built months before filming. by the time they filmed the scene the pool had been in the woods with the mud and muck and bugs and really became a swamp

I love everything about this movie the soundtrack the setting the cast all fantastic

Another of my favorites!!! People are surprised to find it was originally a Stephen King story. This movie is a great adaptation!!!!!!! Your reactions are so authentic 👍

Mail box baseball rules: as long as the mail box is empty you can keep hitting them. When the mail box is full, it's time to pass the baseball bat to the next player!!

One film that I liked and is considered a classic in this genre is "Rebel Without a Cause" from 1955. I know it's older, but that's the magic of cinema - its legacy endures throughout the years. It established the mythology of James Dean.

I never noticed before but it’s funny now how Vern and Teddy were arguing about Mighty Mouse versus Superman because Jerry O’Connell (the actor who played Vern) later went on to voice Superman in several DC animated features.

Your wife paraphrased the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They were singing the theme song from the '50s TV series, Have Gun, Will Travel, starring Richard Boone as Paladin, a traveling hero in the Old West. Aww, you never watched The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves as a kid? They'd see a live-action hero as a real guy vs. Mighty Mouse the cartoon. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) was Universal's 28th Abbott & Costello film. The Narrator said his brother Dennis had died in a Jeep accident. Keds were a brand of sneakers. Corey Feldman is also known for Goonies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one of the Friday the 13th sequels, Gremlins, and The Lost Boys. Kiefer Sutherland starred in The Lost Boys, Vanished, and A Time To Kill. Jerry O'Connell starred on My Secret Identity, Sliders, in the movie Jerry Maguire, and is the first officer of the starship on Star Trek: Lower Decks (his wife, Rebecca Romijn, plays the first officer of the starship Enterprise on Strange New Worlds). River Phoenix played young Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade. Gordie's mom was also the mom in Gremlins and grandma in Back to the Future. Gordie's dad was in Total Recall and Starship Troopers. His brother is best known for Say Anything. Adult Gordie (The Narrator) you know from Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; he also starred in American Graffiti, Always, Mr. Holland's Opus, What About Bob? (with Bill Murray from Ghostbusters, Julie Hagerty from Airplane!, and Charlie Korsmo from Hook), and won an Oscar for The Goodbye Girl. The director of this Stephen King film, Rob Reiner, also directed the King film Misery, the faux documentary This Is Spinal Tap, the dramas A Few Good Men, The American President (starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, John Mahoney, Michael J. Fox, and Richard Dreyfuss) and Ghosts of Mississippi, and the comedy When Harry Met Sally. . . (starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Bruno Kirby, and Carrie Fisher).

This end still makes me cry, all these years later.

This movie is such an achievement in being fun and nostalgic, while also bringing some serious gravitas. It gives some very real comparison of what’s important to kids, what’s important to adults, and what’s important to people in general. What lasts? What doesn’t? Great cast, too! I always liked the “What is Goofy?” discussion because, even from a very young age, I wondered why Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were anthropomorphic (though as a kid I would have worded it “like people”) to some degree, but Pluto wasn’t.

This movie is just great, it keeps my attention no matter how many times I watch it.

This movie and The Lost Boys VHS tapes i had got to worn out from being watched to much as a kid. Fantastic movie and like always, AWESOME reaction!

In the 50s, to a lot of kids Superman was a "real guy" because of the popular 1950s TV show starring George Reeves as the titular character. Of course, he was also a comic book character, but I think this is why Teddy referred to him as a real guy as opposed to Mighty Mouse which was ALWAYS a cartoon.

The first story by Stephen King that felt like he must have done most of this stuff when he was a kid.

2:33 Apparently you didn't see the four boy's Sillouette Shadows of them walking along the river! Therefore, giving the poster MUCH information on the movie!

A poignant song by Natalie Merchant is a tribute to River Phoenix called "River". Most probably know this but Joaquin and River are brothers. All these young actors went on to become very popular adult stars. Richard Dreyfus was already a big star. John Cusack is the deceased brother. Kiefer Sutherland is the son of Donald Sutherland, a seventies star. "Have Gun Will Travel" was a fifties and early sixties TV western. The boys were singing the TV show theme.

First, hope your mother is doing well. This is one of my all time favorite movies. Brilliant cast and performances. Great story. Reminds me of the innocence of running around in the woods with my friends as a kid and the dumb stuff we got into.

As other have recommended - The Outsiders (1983). Adapted from the novel by S.E. Hinton, it was required reading for many of us in school and a great coming of age story with a lot of deeper themes. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather) directs an amazing cast of young talent.

I don’t know if I have commented yet on your channel, but I wanted you to know that I truly enjoy your reactions, and how heartfelt and authentic they are. My recommendation for a good coming age movie is Boyz N’ The Hood. A movie that would not exist in its current form, if it weren’t for Stand By Me. Highly recommended, as it is an important film, as well as both entertaining and groundbreaking.

Stand By Me is one of my favourite movies ever. This and "The Outsiders". You should definitely react to "The Outsiders" too. I think you would really enjoy it!

Yep, this movie is really good. River Phoenix was such a good actor. On the other hand, thanks to tbbt, every time I see this movie, I hear Sheldon screaming "Wheaaaaatonn!"

Somebody might have told you this already, but the chubby kid grew up and became the big brother of Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. -- And I subscribed a few days ago.

one of the best movie ever

It's probably too late, but American Graffiti (1973) is an amazing coming of age story with an equally amazing soundtrack. Keep up the great work!

There is a lot of great scenes but my favorite line is about the town getting smaller after an adventure. Childhood adventures are still vivid in my head. Stephen King knows how two write. My recommendation: Dances With Wolves (1990)

One of my friends in HS had a huge crush on Will Weaton aka Wesley Crusher! It was the 90s so Star Trek Next Generation was still in it's run on TV.

13:32 "It's asshole if your friends hold you back" ~ Chris Chambers

It's so funny how memories and experiences stick in the human brain. For years, whenever I heard the song Stand By Me (closing credits) I would start to feel sad, because it reminded me of this film, which I probably saw too young. Don't get me wrong, it's an AMAZING film I appreciate even more the older I get, but it is as sad as it is funny, Gordy dealing with horrible parents, Chris breaking down about the lunch money incident, and finding out Chris was killed as an adult.. Still, a classic coming of age film, great reaction James! When you called the kids f***ing morons, I was on the floor laughing! You said you like Stephen King's non horror stories. I'm curious, have you read or watched The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile?

Good one. River Phoenix was a huge rising star once upon a time before he died of drug overdose at Johnny Depp's once famous celebrity-friendly L.A. nightclub the Viper Room. His younger brother Joaquin's heartbreaking 911 call has been posted online. Joaquin went on to be an amazing talent himself... notable performance of his in Gladiator, Joker, Her, and Walk the Line. Don't know what your wife meant when she said "they chose.. wisely"... my only guess is that this is a reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?? There's a similar line in that movie, and River Phoenix plays the younger version of Indiana in that movie. Maybe she was thinking of that. Corey Feldman was another big star and teen heartthrob of the 80s, like River, and starred in a bunch of 80s movies most famously alongside fellow teen star Corey Haim.... none of them really worth seeing, though, possibly excepting The Lost Boys which they starred in alongside Kiefer Sutherland. Sutherland is also in this movie and would eventually become a big star... maybe most famous for his role as Jack Bauer in the TV series 24. Other rising stars in this include Will Wheaton (from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Jerry O'Connell, John Cusack, and Richard Dreyfuss. Lots of young stars in this movie. This was the 12th film based on a story by Stephen King. There are now 50, believe it or not. Best one probably being The Shawshank Redemption, but this is definitely one of the better ones.

Keds is a brand of shoe. Mighty Mouse was a cartoon superhero mouse. I believe he said his brother died in a car crash. As they walked along the train tracks, they were singing the theme song to "Have Gun, Will Travel", a TV western serial. This was directed by Rob Reiner, who has directed many a good movie, including Princess Bride, which you've reacted to, and "This is Spinal Tap" (1984), which I hope you will react to.

Those train trestles are scary, up that high with no hand rail. My friends and I used to cross one in high school. It had no train and it wasn't that high or long but it was still scary.

Loved this reaction. Hope to see you at 20k soon

It's amazing how all these kids went on to be bigger Stars

Great reaction!! One of my favorite movies of all time! Keep it up, you're on a roll!🌛🌝🌜🪐🌟

I just want to say Rest in peace to River Phoenix (who plays Chris Chambers) he was such a talented actor. He was also Joaquin Phoenix’s (the last Joker) brother. And Joaquin and their sister Rain Phoenix was at the party with him where he died, his sister tried to resuscitate him with mouth to mouth while Joaquin called the ambulance. Such a tragic story. He was only 23. Such a shame. There are fewer chemical combinations that are as dangerous as Cocaine and Heroin. If there are any children or young people reading this then please be careful, try to avoid getting involved with drugs/alcohol if you can help it. It’s so easy for the use of them to excess to put your life in danger.

This has been my favorite movie since my mom showed it to me when I was 12. Glad more people are reacting to it.

The Sleepers, four kids, one moment in their lives and everything changes. I don't know the year, the 90s. 1996.

This ending was so sad time This movie, the Bronx Tale and Sling Blade always make me tear some. just DEEP DEEP stuff

RIP River Phoenix such a great actor.

I had lots of moment like that with lots of kids grown up in the 90s. I was very adventurous. Bring you back to your childhood. "I recommend watching "Dangerous lives of Altar boys" (2002).

You have the most honest reactions to films...and I agree its a DYNOMITE soundtrack! Always a joy to watch films with you man!

A good high school type of film with a great soundtrack is 1999 Outside Providence

River Phoenix Sadly past away at a young age. RIP.

Not sure if anyone mentioned it but Jerry O’Connell (Vern) played Sheldon’s brother on Big Bang Theory 😊

For some reason this reminded me of the Of Mice And Men (1992) movie with Gary Sinise and John Malkovich. It's by far my favorite version of the book and it's awesome.

IMO, River Phoenix's best performace is in "Running On Empty." He was actually Oscar-nominated for a different movie, Little Nikita (which I've never seen, to be fair), but Running On Empty is a very excellent movie that you would really like, and River is so good in it (as is everyone else). R.I.P. River... gone too soon.

I love that your wife referenced a line from a film River Phoenix was in. Nice.

Just being slightly technical: Wil Wheaton doesn't play himself on BBT. He plays a jerk version of himself, what he would call "evil Wil Wheaton." He's actually a very nice guy.

You'll understand the "chose wisely" thing when you get around to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. ;)

My Girl is a kind of heartfelt coming of age story. Radio Flyer is also a good movie.