Stand by Me (1986)

Stand by Me (1986)

starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland

directed by Rob Reiner

89 minutes

Four friends (all twelve years of age) go on a trip together to see if they can find the body of one of their classmates. Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell) take off on a Friday afternoon and follow the railroad tracks from their hometown of Castle Rock, OR to the river where the body is supposed to be. It takes them a little over 24 hours to get there. They have a number of minor adventures along the way.

Vern found out about the body after he overheard Billy, his older brother, talking about it to a friend. It was Billy who found the body but because he and his friend had just stolen a car they didn't want to bring attention to themselves. Word about the body eventually percolates up to Ace (Kiefer Sutherland), the leader of the gang of friends with whom Billy hangs. Ace decides that they should get the body and get credit for finding it.

Gordie and his friends get to the body just before Ace and his friends do. The older kids seem to have the upper hand but Gordie finds a way to even the score and convince Ace and the others to back off.

Thoughts

I watched the film this time around (I have seen it before) at the AFI Silver Theater. I'm pretty that this was my first time watching it in a theater but it's possible that I've seen it before on a big screen. I'm pretty sure that I didn't see it when it was first released.

The movie is based on a story written by Stephen King, which I think I read 15-20 years ago. I would have to read it again in order to comment on how closely the movie resembles the story.

This is a solid film. It has a a good mix of humor and emotional moments. From the opening scene reveals one of the gut punches that comes up again at the end of the film.

Notes

Wil Wheaton I know best from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was the voice of one of the mice in The Secret of NIMH (1982) but that's the only other movie he's been in that I have watched in recent years. I've seen River Phoenix and Corey Feldman in a few other movies but nothing else that I have watched in recent years. Jerry O'Connell is the voice of Commander Ransom on Star Trek: Lower Decks but I haven't seen him in any other movies in recent years. I've seen at least a half dozen films in which Kiefer Sutherland has appeared but none that I have seen in recent years.

There are a few other actors in this movie that I have seen before including Casey Siemaszko, Bruce Kirby, Richard Dreyfuss, and John Cusack.

I've seen at least a half dozen films that Rob Reiner directed but this is the only one that I have seen in recent years.