Stand by Me (1986) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaiZ6ZQoO-Y

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Sometimes, you don’t know who your best friends are until they’re gone.


PLOT


Based on Stephen King’s ‘The Body’, 1986’s Stand By Me begins with writer Gordon Lachance become stunned with the news that his childhood friend Chris Chambers has recently died. This leads to him typing onto his computer a particular Labor Day weekend they shared that changed their lives forever. In 1959, Gordie lived in Castle Rock, Oregon, with his parents and they have been grieving over his older brother Denny (John Cusack) who died of a fatal car accident. One day when hanging out with Chris and another friend, Teddy Duchamp, they get news from Vern Tessio that he overheard his older brothers discuss that they found the body of Ray Brower who has been missing for some time. With the brothers unable to notify police without making it known they stole a car, Vern invites his friends to find the body first believing it will make them public heroes. They plan to go out camping together but before they go, Chris shows Gordie a gun he took from his father. While they don’t lose it from local bully John ‘Ace’ Merrill and the former’s brother, Richard aka Eyeball (Bradley Gregg), they would steal Gordie’s baseball cap that Denny gave him. As the trip begins, they would pass through a scrapyard and evade a guard dog that belongs to Milo Pressman (William Bronder). On the way out does Pressman mock Teddy having a mentally unstable father that is responsible for past abuse to the point of burning his ear. Teddy takes it personal, but the boys pull him away knowing the conflict isn’t worth it. As they walk a train track together, Chris encourages Gordie to pursue a writing career no matter how much his dad disapproves. After also escaping an oncoming train, Gordie would express his imagination to his friends by sharing a campfire story of David ‘Lard Ass’ Hogan (Andy Lindberg) who spitefully ruined a pie eating contest by drinking castor oil in advance and caused a “Barf-o-Rama” as revenge to those who mocked his obesity. After the story does Chris tell him he hates the bad reputation he’s had over his poverty lifestyle. He does admit to have stolen a school milk money fund and chose to give it back to a teacher and asked her to the school, only for her to pocket it for herself. This has broken his heart so much that he wishes to move so far away that no one would know who he is. By morning do the boys take a short cut via crossing a pond, but it goes awry when encountering leeches and Gordie ends up fainting when finding one on his genitals. When he recovers do they eventually find Ray’s body just off the train tracks where he was struck. Seeing the body scares Gordie where he keeps questioning if his dad hates after losing Denny, but Chris assures him he just doesn’t know him. Ace arrives with his gang via cars and want to turn in the body for themselves, willing to draw a switchblade on the boys for it. Thankfully, Gordie fires the gun in the air and declares no one will take it. Ace vows revenge as he retreats, but adult Gordie narrates that he never bothered any one of them by the time they returned home. On the way back does Gordie make an anonymous call to the police for where to find the body. As adult Gordie finishes his memoir, he would reveal what has happened to his childhood friends when they became adults: Vern finished high school, became married with four kids and made a living as a forklift operator. Teddy grew up disappointed of not qualifying for the military due to his ear injury and poor eyesight that it would result in him acting out to the point of having jail time and now gets by with odd jobs. As for Chris, he was the only one who kept in touch with Gordie and he overcame poverty by graduating law school, becoming a successful lawyer. According to the newspaper Gordie read, Chris died trying to defuse a fight, being fatally stabbed in the neck. Before departing with his son to a swimming trip does the film end with Gordie typing one last passage for the memoir: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?".


THOUGHTS


If there is anything I enjoy most of when Stephen King writes something so grounded, it’s gonna stick with you for a long time and this is one of them. With the collaboration of director Rob Reiner and screenwriters Bruce A Evans & Raymond Gideon, we are able to witness an adventure that’s far from the rest. Thomas Del Ruth’s cinematography is the biggest strength as it makes every second matter on what it feels to search for something unorthodox. What I think this story does differently is that it teaches viewers that only you can choose your future when it comes to the family you choose for yourself. In this case, searching for a dead body was the boys’ path to adulthood as everything that led to it slowly taking away their innocence. The steps you take going forward however will prove the past will not always define you depending on the severity. You relate to all four of the boys because they all just want to show their community they’re more than one thing. Through the young Jerry O’Connell, we see Vern wanted to prove he’s fearless and despite having valid moments being afraid, he’d prove to be brave enough by being loyal throughout unlike his brothers who would allow Ace to cause harm and say nothing. The last kind of person you want to be is one full of remorseless the way Kiefer Sutherland embraces as the bully who did get a reality check you can only things too far that someone will stand up eventually. Through Corey Feldman, Teddy wanted to prove he can do more than what he’s capable of. But the world worried too much for him due to his disabilities that held him back on the potential he had. While he grew up bitter, it never changed the fact no matter how reckless he was seen as, he was always good hearted like the rest of his friends. A similar thing can be said with Chris because as portrayed by the late River Phoenix, he was someone who wanted to prove he still had good in him no matter how much people looked the other way. That still became a problem for him as he get older, but the fact he stayed true to himself is what makes his life worthwhile because self encouragement was enough for him. Ironically, that never would’ve been possible had he not shown compassion to someone who needed it most. The young Will Wheaton showed Gordie as one who was trying to find inner peace and not be defined by loss. He found that not because of finding the body, but more in line to how he’d choose to live to the fullest with his imagination that brought him success. While it’s never said aloud, I’m sure his parents became proud of him as Denny would. Then seeing an adult Richard Dreyfus accept such wisdom from his past brings things full circle on how we got to appreciate the time we have with the people we love because you never know which day will be the last, something I also felt when listening to Ben E King’s titular song. He may have not kept in touch with Teddy & Vern the way he did with Chris since it is common for friends to grow apart off of having interests, it’ll never change the fact he appreciated their time together because it is what helped him find a purpose he never thought he’d embrace until after. With that nostalgic trip coming to him, it’s a sweet given that he’ll pass this wisdom to his son once the day is over. In short, Stand By Me is the crème of the crop for coming of age stories because it reminds you how precious youth is. If you still need said reminder, make the time to see this.