Stand By Me

Last night I re-watched a personal favorite from my childhood, and in my opinion, one of Rob Reiner's best films; Stand By Me.

What a great adventure flick. It truly captures what being on any kind of quest is like. Drawing on personal experience, I only remember my adventures as a kid AND as an adult bringing out emotions in my that I try to keep hidden away, and all four of the kids in this flick manage to really bring out those emotions in us.

Gordie Lachance breaks your heart in the scene where they find Ray Brower's body! Talk about a child performance, this one is one of the best, the one all other child actors should look to for guidance, the Citizen Kane of child performances.

Teddy Duchamp will scare you and make you laugh simultaneously, all whilst harboring a secret hidden anguish caused by the abuse of his war-addled Pop. Corey Feldman's performance in Stand is second only to his own performance in The Goonies. Don't tell me his "dream" monologue in the wishing well during Goonies didn't make you want to rip Troy Perkins balls out from where they hung for supporting his dad's quest to destroy The Goonies' neighbourhood.

Vern Tessio is the kid we all secretly relate to, the kid none of us want to be, but all of us truly are. Jerry O'Connell (before he bedded and wedded Mystique), truly brings the comic relief we all find ourselves needing in those scenes that are emotionally draining. Not to say he doesn't bring his own emotions to the flick. Hell, I think I had a heart-attack after seeing the terror in Vern's eyes while he was being chased by the train.

And saving the best for last, River Pheonix as Chris Chambers. I'm an Indiana Jones whore, so Young Indy can do no wrong in a flick, and his performance in Stand is no exception. Let's keep it simple and say that River makes Chris the kid we all wanted to be, shit, want to be. He's the kid who goes home to an abusive family, and still manages to keep his best friends going. The scenes where he breaks down will catch you by surprise, even if you've already seen it.

Sutherland and Cusack are of course great, but name me a time when they aren't. Great cinematography, courtesy of Thomas Del Ruth, the same D.O.P. who did great flicks like The Breakfast Club and a ton of TV shows, The X-Files included. Best of all though, is the classic (real classic, not Led Zeppelin classic) rock'n'roll soundtrack, which adds its own voice to the flick by keeping us the audience aware of when the story takes place. The aura the music creates reminds me especially of my own childhood and adolescence, this scene in particular,



Stand By Me is a touching little movie that belongs in any true film collectors... collection... It makes us all want to go off and have our own adventures, to be true heroes, like Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern. So when you watch this film, and start packing for your own adventure, allow me to leave you with a question from Christopher Chambers himself:
"You wanna be the Lone Ranger or the Cisco Kid?"