My mom and I had a pizza and movie night today, renting Stand by Me. I’ve seen Stand by Me multiple times; the coming-of-age, group of friends on an adventure charm puts it in the same category as other films that I love like The Goonies, Super 8, or The Sandlot . . . or shows like Stranger Things for that matter.
I’m also still circling all things 50’s and this takes place in 1959.
Based on Stephen King’s novella “The Body”, the film follows four boys as they set out to find the body of a kid their age who was struck and killed by a train. Like any good story, it’s more about the journey than the destination, and while they run into their fair share of external obstacles (a junkyard dog, a rough gang also after the body . . . and that leeches scene, uffda), the strength of the story is in their friendship as they learn more about one another and their individual struggles.
Plus the cast is on point — Will Wheaton and River Phoenix. . . and I had forgotten that Kiefer Sutherland played the main antagonist. And Corey Feldman who is also in The Goonies.
We all know this of course — it’s a fantastic movie. So this is an invitation to watch it again if it’s been a while. It’s a tight 90 minutes and full of laughs with an ending so bittersweet it always makes me tear up. Stephen King always has a way of gently fucking me up.
With Love
Natalie