The Gonzo Wolf

Now that the Rob Reiner band-wagon has slowed, I feel as though it’s time to discuss what I believe to be his magnum opus. Let’s see what the fine folks at Wikipedia have to say about this film (please donate to them if you can):

Stand by Me is a 1986 American coming-of-age drama film^[5] directed by Rob Reiner. Based on Stephen King‘s 1982 novella The Body, the film is set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Oregon, in 1959. Stand by Me stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell as four boys who set out on a journey to find the dead body of a missing boy. The film’s title is derived from the 1961 song of the same name by Ben E. King, which plays during the film’s closing credits.

Released in the United States on August 22, 1986 by Columbia Pictures, Stand by Me received positive reviews^[6] and was a commercial success. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and for two Golden Globe Awards (Best Drama Motion Picture and Best Director). Rolling Stone has called Stand by Me “a staple of youthful nostalgia” and “the rare movie that necessarily gets better with time”.

The Rev-iew:

Nostalgia. Not just for me and mine when this film released in 1986, but for our parents. This was their childhood era; soundtrack included.

This film was to them what Stranger Things is to Gen-X now, meaning Gen-X has yet to get their “Stand By Me”. I watched the first two seasons and couldn’t bring myself to continue. To each their own.

I wasn’t allowed to see Stand By Me the summer it released, because it was one of those periods in my upbring when my parents were attempting to be a bit more religious. This movie had dirty words. I call BS, in hindsight. My cousin saw it, and he sat next to us in church. I learned at an early age that the same rules don’t apply to everyone.

When I did finally get to see this film, it was the “edited for television” version. We recorded it on VHS. “TV versions” of films still irritate me to this day. They’re almost as bad as “radio versions” of metal songs. Need an example? Find the clean version of Korn’s “ADIDAS”. Try not to laugh. It’s the musical equivalent to “Jesus Channel” acting.

The adventures these kids endure during the film were still being performed by groups of friends my age. When I was young, I mean. Tree houses, swiping cigarettes, lying about camping in each other’s backyards; This movie gave us ideas, and not all of them were good!

To those who’ve never seen this movie at the hands of someone cooler than you, and in the now post-Rob Reiner world, I dare not spoil anything. This is a coming of age film done right, with friends only Stephen King can write. You’ll see many nods to the Loser’s Club from IT and even the older friends from Dreamcatcher. Instead of discussing plot or story, I just want to quote a few timeless lines:

I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being. It happened in the summer of 1959-a long time ago, but only if you measure in terms of years. I was living in a small town in Oregon called Castle Rock. There were only twelve hundred and eighty-one people. But to me, it was the whole world.

The kid wasn’t sick. The kid wasn’t sleeping. The kid was dead.

I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?

Okay, I basically just gave away the film, but it’s the stuff that happens before, during, and after those lines that make it special. Watching it again in this very moment, as I type these lines, the sound it’s making is echoed on screen by Richard Dreyfuss, typing the film’s final epiphany.

In the end, it doesn’t matter from which generation you hail, the message of this movie is friendship; coming of age. As it progresses, and you get to know these characters, it becomes all the more relatable. When the credits roll, you can’t help but wonder where’s that friend, what was I thinking, or is that kid I saw with Becky at Wal-Mart really mine?

Good times.

Yeah, sometimes looking back isn’t such a pleasurable experience, and that’s why movies like this exist; so we can revel in someone else’s childhood. How many of you still have your pack intact from Junior High/High School? How did you manage to do so with the political and pandemic nonsense of the past decade?

Just know that Chris Chambers wouldn’t have dumped you.

5/5 and needs to be visited or revisited ASAP.