I seem to have a habit of not being overly impressed by films that others rave about. This coming of age movie - Stand By My - has received high praise here at Epinions, 29 5-star reviews with many citing no cons at all, 13 4-star reviews. Mine will be the first rating of less than four stars, quite incredible. Elsewhere, at time of writing it was number 152 in the all time top 250 movies at IMDB with an average rating of 8.1/10.
When I saw these rave reviews, after having by chance borrowed this film and putting off seeing it because I’m not usually too keen on movies starring kids. The kids in this case (bearing in mind that the film was made in 1986) were Wil Wheaton (the eternally annoying child prodigy Wesley Crusher on Star Trek Next Generation – that was a bad start), River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell. Wheaton plays Gordie Lachance, who dreams of becoming a writer (the fact that the very first scene is Gordie as an adult writing about his childhood suggests that he succeeded) but living in the shadow of his deceased older brother. Phoenix is Chris Chambers, who is fated to be known as coming from a bad family and thus bad himself. He’s the tough guy and leader of the little gang, and almost seems to have become Gordie’s substitute older brother. Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) is a bit whacko, largely due to his own family troubles, and lives very moment on the edge. No gang of twelve year-olds is complete without the compulsory dweeb, and Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell) fills this role. However, it is the dweeb’s chance discovery that sets the foursome on their way as they travel towards a strange destination…
I suppose one thing that stopped me from liking this film as much as some others was the constant barrage of obscenities – by children and adults alike. Sure, I remember what school was like and that playground language would be R rated, but I felt the amount was unnecessary for this film. Still, there were still some wonderful scenes in Stand By Me, just not enough to hold it together as a whole – not to me, anyway.
The journey and subsequent squabbles, misunderstandings, arguments, and cussing (lots of that!) are broken up with a few humorous scenes and some scenes of true friendship coming to the fore. I found the pacing a little awkward and the scenes disjointed though. I think the main problem with the inclusion of a sub-plot involving Chris’ older brother and his horrible friends (led by Ace Merrill – Keifer Sutherland) seemed a bit pointless considering the final confrontation ends with a chilling ultimatum… which is subsequently ignored completely by the film. I also found the end of the film rather depressing, which didn’t really make me feel like I’d enjoyed the film any more!
All four boys played their parts extremely well and even Wheaton didn’t annoy me too much. There are, as I mentioned, many moments in the film which were truly moving, but the long bits in between just didn’t do much for me. Perhaps another factor is that personally I didn’t find the age 12 to be the most memorable for having amazing friendships – for me the friendships I’ve made have become more meaningful over the years. Perhaps this prevented me from really relating to the film as much as some others – Gordie (played by Richard Dreyfuss as an adult)’s final words are: ”I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”. This film probably means a lot more to those who agree with that sentiment.
All in all, my impression of Stand By Me was that it was a film with some wonderful moments… but by no means a wonderful film.
Other Information
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Runtime: 89 minutes
Rating: 15 (UK) R (USA) PG (Canada)
Random Thoughts
I’ve always thought it was weird having kids play roles in films they’re not supposed to watch till they’re older…
There’s an early glimpse of John Cusack in this film (it was his seventh film appearance).
I’m not a great fan of voiceovers in serious movies, but Richard Dreyfuss is one of the few actors I can imagine making the voiceover in this movie work.
Quotes
An example of the meaningful conversations you have when you’re twelve:
Gordie: Mickey is a mouse, Donald is a duck, Pluto is a dog. What's Goofy...?
Teddy: He's a dog, he's definitely a dog...
Chris: He can't be a dog, he wears a hat and drives a car...
Vern: Yeah, that is weird. What the hell is Goofy?
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Kids can be so cruel… and honest?
Teddy: I am acting my age. I'm in the prime of my youth and I'll only be young once.
Chris: Yeah, but you're gonna be stupid for the rest of your life.
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Gordie: Do you think I'm weird?
Chris: Definitely.
Gordie: No man, seriously. Am I weird?
Chris: Yeah, but so what? Everybody's weird.
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Vern: Geez, Gordie, why couldn't you have gotten breakfast stuff like twinkies, Pez and root beer?
Gordie: Sorry, Vern. I guess a more experienced shopper could have gotten more for your seven cents.
Recommended:
No
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age
In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends--sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman), ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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