Stand by Me

Starring: River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Richard Dreyfuss, John Cusack
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Rating: R
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Four best friends (River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) take an overnight trip through the wilderness to find a dead body. Their journey is lead by dreams of fame as the boys who found the missing corpse, but along the way, they discover something more important- friendship.

Review:

Tim: This is one of the greatest coming-of-age movies of all time. Surprisingly, it comes from horro master Stephen King. The plot is flawless- four boys, each with their own emotional baggage, go on a journey of self discovery, searching for a dead body. Along the way they grow up quite a bit.

The cast is excellent. River Phoenix was a hell of an actor. I wish he was still with us. Corey Feldman is actually pretty annoying, but that was his character. Wil Wheaton does a really good job, too. Kiefer Sutherland stands out because he makes you hate him very much. John Cusack is excellent- he really makes you wish he was your big brother. Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator is ideal in the role. He holds the movie together.

As with all good coming-of-age movies, this one reminds us what it was like to be in that fragile stage between childhood and our teenage years. We are with the boys as they glimpse into the adult world and are changed forevery by their adventure. Some part of us is, too.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Stand, The Langoliers, Storm of the Century, Dreamcatcher, Salem's Lot