Stand By Me (1986) – Encore Review 8

“Vern didn’t just mean being off limits inside the junkyard, or fudging on our folks, or going on a hike up the railroad to Harlow. He meant those things, but it seems to me now it was more and that we all knew it. Everything was there and around us. We knew exactly who we were and exactly where we were going. It was grand.” – The Writer

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (1st time was at a video night with friends in ’87, video, cable, 13 Oct 1992, DVD, 17 April 2013, 2 Mar 2015, 7 Oct 2015, 25 Sep 2016, 30 Jul 2018, 6 Oct 2019, 28 Jan 2020, 27 Jan 2021 and 13 Jan 2022)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – A quartet of boys go on a journey to find the dead body of a local kid and try and become famous in doing so.

My Take on it – This is a film that I have always loved ever since I first saw it as a kid and I never tire of watching it.

The characters are developed really well and they come across as seeming so realistic in the way that the talk, act and joke around with one another.

It’s hard to not really believe how close they all are to one another in each of the gangs.

The story is paced really well and something is constantly happening that helps keep the plot flowing in the right direction.

The cats is excellent and despite their young ages, most of these actors showed so much talent that would be evident in their future work.

The narration by Richard Dreyfuss also helps with the tone of things especially since he is meant to be a stand-in for the author of the novella; Stephen King.

Rob Reiner does an amazing job directing this movie and despite its short runny time of just 90 minutes or so, they are able to give such a powerful and poignant tale lots of credence.

Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – As with most of Stephen King’s stories, this one originally contained connections to other books he has written. Ace Merrill later re-appeared in the book Needful Things (1993), although he does not appear in the film. The dog Chopper is compared to Cujo (1983). Characters are familiar with Shawshank Prison, from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Teddy Duchamp was actually first mentioned in King’s first book, Carrie (1976), in which Carrie destroys a gas station he once worked at. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)