STAND BY ME
I don't know the last time I saw STAND BY ME - but it's been ten years at least and maybe as long as fifteen. And it's ALL WHEATON'S FAULT*. Mel and I have been listening to JUST A GEEK over the past few days and it turns out she's never seen the movie.
So I checked whether it was on NetFlix, and we watched it tonight. A double road into the past for me. I know I didn't see it anywhere near release. I would guess I probably saw it in 1990 for the first time, but I have no way to check. But I wasn't THAT much older than the boys when I saw it. Then a few years went by, and I saw it again maybe in the mid-90s. Both times I liked it.
The kids are all terrific. Jerry O'Connell was probably the weakest of the quartet... but so was Vern. River Phoenix and Corey Feldman were both actually really awesome in their roles. And Wheaton. It took a few minutes for me to warm back up to Gordie... but then the movie and the role and the actor completely took over again.
The few other actors in the movie were also spot-on. Kiefer dominated the role of Ace to the point where, on reading other stories that Ace was a character, I always saw his bleached-blonde black clad version. Dreyfuss was an excellent narrator, and in some ways is still a benchmark for narration for me.
And when the hell did John Cusack sneak into that movie? I had absolutely NO memory of Cusack playing Gordie's brother. So that, too, was very cool.
Rob Reiner will forever have a soft spot in my heart, just for this flick. And for Meathead, but that's a different thing entirely.
My verdict: That movie holds up SO well.
The wife's verdict: Cool movie, and "Wil was adorable!" (But to be fair, she did think Kiefer's hair was pretty... 80s.)
* Wil, I got excited and made something. This blog, overall, but the shirt came to me as I started to write this post. I hope you like it. And that it doesn't violate CafePress's TOS.
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