Director: Rob Reiner
Writers: Stephen King, Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans
Stars: Zoe Ziegler, Luke Philip Bosco, June Walker Grossman
Synopsis: A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
It’s 1959 and twelve-year-old friends Gordon (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O’Connell) go on a hike out of town in search of a rumored dead body – instead learning about their own fears and hopes along the way before standing up to local gang leader Ace (Kiefer Sutherland).
Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride) directs Stand by Me, the 1986 adaptation of the Stephen King story “The Body,” with built-in reflection and nostalgia thanks to the narration from Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) as the adult Gordon – who perhaps embellishes the junkyard dog chases, dangerous bridges, oncoming trains, and leeches in the wrong places. Although it is not a slow, talkative piece; there’s a lot of background to start Stand by Me with details on first hearing about the dead body of a boy their age and introductions on each boy and their family circumstances. Their small town lives aren’t that great – they know they’ll be punished for lying about their hike but it will be worth it to get their picture in the paper and become local heroes. The adventure starts so fun and carefree as they sing to themselves and quiz each other. It’s also somewhat humorous, as an adult now, to see how unprepared they are for this trip with two dollars and no food. Such eighties does fifties fondness casts a sentimental patina, but the simplicity escalates to climbing fences, dodging trains, and arguing about who is trying to kill themselves. Stand by Me realistically asks questions that weren’t spoken in 1986, much less 1959, and are still not fully addressed today.
The train tracks seem unending in the distance, it’s hot, they’re out of breath and hungry, and somewhere along the way, the journey becomes a somber maturation on the finality of childhood. The end of decade and Labor Day setting invoke this last hurrah as our boys race each other and throw rocks in can – there for each other, hugging and defending friends amid gay and fat insults, jinxes, and jokes about their mothers. Stand By Me has a clever script with each vignette-style chapter of the quest balanced with humorous conversations and well paced action. Time is taken for the serious undercurrent and innocent confessionals, and our boys realize they are seeking a dead body and this shouldn’t be a grand time. They may trespass or steal from their bad parents, but the older teens are much more violent. Our twelve-year-olds are at the pass between becoming problematic as expected or making something of themselves. Certainly, the “Lardass” campfire story’s weight jokes are cringe now. However, we can laugh at the over-the-top pie eating contest because it is a barf-o-rama child’s tale with a deeper satire on the fifties itself. The perfect families at the seemingly so pleasant county fair are lampooned for what they really are – cheering on their own gross fallout and projectile end. Choosing shortcuts leads to mud and swamp dangers yet a solitary moment seeing a deer reminds us how short-lived this experience is. Stand by Me moves fast as our boys find the body and finally grieve over what’s happening in their lives. Knife versus gun standoffs and doing the right thing make for a somber return to a town that now seems small to them.
Our young ensemble has incredible foresight into their characters, and Stand by Me is bittersweet thanks to not just the subsequent death of River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho), but the surviving cast’s continued struggles. Feldman (The Lost Boys) has spoken about numerous abuse allegations while Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is vocal about his mental health issues and O’Connell (Sliders) struggled with body image growing up on television. Nightmares, funeral memories, and fears of being weak for crying accent each boy’s emotional moment. Often they are mean to each other but the jests and jabs are also lighthearted compared to today’s vehemence.
Thankfully, the narration knows when to be quiet as the boys don’t share everything with each other and already seem to be growing apart. Different boys pair up at times, performing with mature aplomb as they effortlessly curse and complain about their mean drunk dads. Feldman’s reckless Teddy isn’t afraid to cry over his abusive, shell-shocked father but quickly acts tough, apologizes, and wants it forgotten. His friends wonder how he can love a father who hits him but they also ask our young writer what happens next in his pie eating story. Gordon doesn’t know, but Teddy thinks it should be guns and running away to join the Texas Rangers. These wistful metaphors match what they think are such existential campfire questions: What’s Goofy? Why do they never get anywhere on Wagon Train? Why can’t they eat nothing but Pez? It’s just like Twitter! Phoenix’s leader Chris wishes he could go away to where no one knows him, and Gordon feels invisible after his older brother died and his parents wish it had been him. However Chris tells Gordon to make something of his writing. Although they tease one another, they enjoy being together because it’s the best time of their lives.
Numerous familiar faces pepper Stand by Me as the out of touch adults, and John Cusack (Say Anything) as Gordon’s beloved late brother is lit differently in flashback scenes – glowing moments when Denny gives Gordon gifts and tells their parents to notice his little brother’s stories. Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), on the other hand, as the mailbox baseball swinging, chicken racing bully Ace is somewhat over the top in his tattoo carving, trash talking menace, perhaps embellished on The Writer’s part since all the gang actions happen outside of young Gordon’s point of view. Of course, Stand by Me‘s soundtrack with recognizable radio hits and plenty of doo wop is superb. There’s a naivete to “Lollipop” and “Yakety Yak,” however the instrumental version of the titular Ben E. King staple tugs at the undercurrent throughout the film before the touching, fitting lyrics play in full over the closing credits. Up close angles, wide shots, and natural sounds elevate the train track suspense. Rustic visuals and forested photography contrast our sophisticated eighties writer and his giant computer, too. We don’t hear people say sir or quarter of and quarter to anymore, and little Gordon buys four glass bottle sodas, a bag of rolls, and hamburger for $1.50!Can 21st century viewers demanding shock and scandal rather than something heartfelt appreciate this layered eighties does fifties nostalgia? Today’s youth have to deal with far worse than a single knife or lone gun, and many little things here that will make older viewers chuckle can seem corny. Unlike watching as a child for the humor and adventure, nowadays I choke up over the disappearing Chris fading away down the road. Fortunately, Stand by Me remains a fascinating sociological time capsule of American youth. It’s okay that Stand by Me‘s framework is rose colored and sentimental with a bittersweet eerie that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Our youths saw the body, now they must face what’s next. That’s life.
