We’re all familiar with the story because it’s been so well-integrated into pop culture. It’s based off Stephen King’s novella “The Body.”
A gang of precocious preteens hear the body of a local teenager is waiting to be found in the woods. Together, they trudge through the woods of the Pacific northwest to find the body and become local celebrities. Along the way, they learn about themselves and face the realities of growing up.
The gang consists of intellectual Gordie Lachance (Will Wheaton), his best friend and local bad boy Chris Chambers (the late River Phoenix), emotionally-wounded Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and chubby Vern Tessio (an unrecognizable Jerry O’Connell).
Gordie is dealing with the recent loss of his older brother (John Cusack in flashbacks), Chris wants to escape the aura the town has put around his as the bad kid, Teddy is suffering from the rough past with his father and Vern is the chubby underdog we all knew, or maybe even were.
We get so few movies that adequately show adolescence in all its raw (un)glory. Probably because they’re hard to market. A kids movie usually appeals to a child’s playful, naïve mindset and sidesteps the malaise that occupies young-adulthood. I doubt Judy Moody spent her Bummer Summer in an existential crisis and searching for a dead body while chain-smoking, swearing and holstering a gun.
“Stand By Me” is kind of a kids movie for adults as well as kids. It doesn’t stupefy childhood like a kid’s movie usually does. It works as nostalgic piece to remind the older crowd how it felt to be a preteen teetering on adulthood.
It also is something young-adults can relate to; that time in life when cussing for the sake of cussing showed how cool you were and a pinky swear was the most sacred vow imaginable.
The young adults in the movie swear, smoke and are bullied by an older group of kids (lead by Kiefer Sutherland). I’m sure that was all reason enough for the MPAA to give the movie an R-rating, which indicates no one under 17 should see it without parental guidance. I think it’s a mistake to restrict a film from its target audience. If I ever become the parent of a preteen, I’d have no hesitation in letting them watch “Stand By Me.”
A preteen’s behavior is usually R-rated, anyways. I know mine was. So to throw an R-rating on a film such as “Stand By Me” to tell kids they can’t see or hear what they do anyways is wrong. We don’t see too many stories that do the subject of adolescence justice. “South Park” does it too extreme and satirically, and the recent “Super 8” did just okay with it.
Everyone can identify with at least one of the characters or situations in “Stand By Me.” Personally, I’ve always been more of a Chris Chambers-type. I even had a situation over the summer that resembled the emotional scene where Chris begins to cry and open up to Gordie. It’s a relatable film no matter your age. I didn’t see this movie until very recently at 22 years old. But, I know plenty of friends who have told me they loved it as a kid.
Maybe the adventures we had in our youth never approached the magnitude of the one these four boys had. I personally doubt many of us went searching for a dead body when we were younger, and I sincerely hope few (if none) of you gentlemen ever had a leech get stuck on your privates. But, it’s still the principle of how we everything that happens in the film is grounded in reality and honest emotions.
Released in 1986, “Stand By Me” celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with a Blu-Ray release. The film helped fuel the young actors careers because of their great performances that flesh out the characters. Knowing that River Phoenix died in 1993 from drugs at the age of 23 adds a special poignancy to the character of Chris.
In the end, a grown-up Gordie (played by Richard Dreyfuss, who narrates the story) reflects on the journey he took with his friends in response to Chris’ recent murder. On his computer, he types a profound statement: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”
I measure a dramatic film’s success by how much it resonates with me after I watch it. “Stand By Me” ties with “Catfish” as a movie that affected me so deeply that I couldn’t get out of my head for a very long time. From the quieter moments, like when a lone deer stumbles upon Gordie, to the exciting moments like when the boys outrun a train, to the funny parts like the pie-eating contest, all the way to the haunting conclusion, the movie has a powerful resonance.
I think it’s safe to say the boys do eventually find the dead body. What they decide to do with their discovery shows they have learned lessons about themselves and their own impermanence to allow them to edge closer to adulthood. Lessons that I, for one, did not learn the easy way.
Jesus, does anyone?