Movie Review - "Stand By Me" (1986) *****

     "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" Even though it is typed and not spoken, this is the final line of the classic 1986 Rob Reiner film Stand By Me. It is also the perfect line to end the film with because it is absolutely true. I have had many friends come in and out of my life. Some of them left an impression and others I can barely remember, but they all played a role in my life. But I will never forget the core group of guys that I grew up with through my elementary and middle school years. Ironically, my group was very similar to the foursome in the movie. I see a lot of myself in Gordie Lachance, quiet and reserved but willing to step up and be a voice for the group when I needed to. My friend Ralph Chandler was about a year older, the coolest member of our group and could be fearless at times. Because of that I definitely see a Chris Chambers quality to him. My cousin Jason Hodges could be downright crazy and if the four of us ever got in trouble it was usually Jason who had a big hand in things. For that, he definitely reminds me of Teddy Duchamp. My friend Eric Jones was the youngest of the group and was the easiest to pick on, but he had an innocence about him that you just liked having him around, thus he compares to Vern Tessio quite a bit. The four of us spent so much time together and we would spend countless hours playing in the woods near our house. There was a clearing in the woods where you could get down the embankment and sit on the banks of the St. Johns River. This was our place to go to just sit back and talk boy talk, much like the tree house at the start of the movie. We would talk about the latest Nintendo games that were coming out, make trades with our baseball cards, talk about our Star Wars toy collections...and of course talk about the girls who lived in the neighborhood. These times were priceless.
     Of course, time moved on, we got older and eventually all went our separate ways. But that's the power that the movie Stand By Me has. Seeing it can bring back all of these memories in an instant. When you have a film that can do that for you, it makes it very special and this one is very special to me and always will be. Stand By Me is based on a novella called "The Body" by Stephen King from his book "Different Seasons". This book also had the story that would become the movie The Shawshank Redemption which is one of my all-time favorites so I would recommend reading "Different Seasons" if you haven't already for these two classic stories. Stand By Me was just recently released on a 25th Anniversary special edition Blu-Ray that is the basis for this review. The film stars Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman and the late River Phoenix as the four boys who go on an adventure to find the body of another kid who is missing and presumed killed in a train accident. The boys at first are excited about this opportunity because it is a way for them to become famous if they find the body and bring it back home. They talk about the excitement of being on tv and when they set out on their adventure Vern (O'Connell) even brings a comb along so they can look good for the cameras. What happens in the next hour and a half is one of the great coming-of-age stories to ever be put on the silver screen. Over the course of the two days of traveling, we can actually see the foursome crossing over from childhood into adulthood. The tone of the film starts off very innocent and funny but as we go along each of the members has a growing moment and by the end of the film the tone has shifted dramatically.
     This movie works for many reasons but to me the acting is what sets it apart and pushes it to the elite level. Every acting job in this movie is perfect for the role. Richard Dreyfuss is the narrator of the movie and plays the adult Gordie Lachance. We see the film through his narration and onscreen he bookends the movie for us. Keifer Sutherland is wonderful in his first big time role as Ace Merrill, the leader of the gang trying to beat Gordie and his friends to the body. John Cusack has a small role as Gordie's brother Denny who died at a young age. We see him in flashbacks that Gordie has where his parents ignore him but Denny always believed in him and this will play a big part in the end when Gordie has his main emotional moment in the film. While all these smaller roles are well done, ultimately the film rests on the shoulders of these four young boys who were all relatively newcomers to acting. Only Corey Feldman had done significant work prior to Stand By Me, starring in Goonies, Gremlins and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. While they were young, all four give outstanding performances. River Phoenix would go on to be one of the best young actors in Hollywood and had a long career ahead of him. Unfortunately, he fell victim to drug abuse and died tragically at a young age. But in this role as Chris Chambers you can see all the promise he had. The scene where he and Gordie are sitting up late at the campfire and Chris tells Gordie that he stole the milk money from school is such great acting. The emotion that River Phoenix brings to that scene is something you would expect from an actor who had years of experience. Phoenix did not have that experience but you wouldn't guess it from watching that performance.
      Stand By Me is such a great film and I highly recommend everyone see it if you haven't for any reason. Even though the movie is rated R due to the language in the film, I wouldn't see a problem letting anyone over 12 or so watch it. But I think it's a film that adults will appreciate more. While I don't have any kids and may be way off base with this, it seems like kids today spend so much time indoors and don't get out and explore like they used to. That may have a lot to do with the way society has changed and there are a lot of not-so-good people walking the streets. If that is the case, it's unfortunate because so much of our lives at an early age should be shaped by these bonds we form with our friends. To take that adventure and go out and discover something about ourselves, I think there are some things you can only learn by having a group of friends like that. Like the movie, I had my adventures with my friends and I learned a lot....the most notable thing being that I sometimes wish I could go back and relive those moments. When things were a little bit simpler, yet so much more complicated to understand.