"Stand By Me" Turns 30
July 28, 2016 1:36 PM Subscribe
"It’s one of those films that whenever you happen to catch it, you’re caught and you can’t turn away."
‘Stand by Me’ From Variety- Oral History: Rob Reiner and Cast on River Phoenix and How Coming-of-Age Classic Almost Didn’t Happen.
And, of course there was the sound track.
And, of course there was the sound track.
The soundtrack is one of the better ones out there.
posted by kevinbelt at 2:07 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 2:07 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sic Balls.
posted by JenThePro at 2:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by JenThePro at 2:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I never had any films later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.
Jesus, does anyone?
posted by Soulfather at 2:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [33 favorites]
Jesus, does anyone?
posted by Soulfather at 2:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [33 favorites]
Not my cup of film tea, but can anyone recall the very first film in a theater you saw? Mine was an early Tarzan film, and, sitting very close to the screen in the 2nd row, I thought a tiger was leaping out to grab me. Scared the heck out of me. Vowed I would not go to an African jungle, ever. And I kept that pledge.
posted by Postroad at 2:38 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Postroad at 2:38 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
My family went to a Unitarian Universalist church when I was a kid. The church had a tradition of having their 6th grade Sunday school class have a sleepover at the start of the year so we could all eat pizza, watch Stand By Me together, and talk about what it meant to be growing up. Then in the morning, everyone would all have breakfast together. It was the closest thing I think I ever got to a coming-of-age ritual, and one of those things I remember feeling sort of unprepared for, which I guess was sort of the point.
posted by teponaztli at 2:41 PM on July 28, 2016 [17 favorites]
posted by teponaztli at 2:41 PM on July 28, 2016 [17 favorites]
Heh. I went to school with one of the "Donnelly Twins" in the puking pie scene.
And I always kind of thought Lardass Hogan grew up to be "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence from "Full Metal Jacket."
posted by chavenet at 3:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
And I always kind of thought Lardass Hogan grew up to be "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence from "Full Metal Jacket."
posted by chavenet at 3:17 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
much love. Also..."the Sandlot"
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:29 PM on July 28, 2016
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:29 PM on July 28, 2016
I devoured Stephen King books until I was about 15 or so ("It" was probably the last one I read as a teen, coming back to some of the books later on), and this was a good one. I still remember watching this movie that summer, the summer before high school.
posted by My Dad at 3:34 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by My Dad at 3:34 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
But yeah, great film. Being the same age as the characters, I didn't really pick up on the poignancy of the film until years later. Was King my age now when he wrote The Body I wonder?
posted by Kiwi at 3:40 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Kiwi at 3:40 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
> My family went to a Unitarian Universalist church when I was a kid. The church had a tradition of having their 6th grade Sunday school class have a sleepover at the start of the year so we could all eat pizza, watch Stand By Me together, and talk about what it meant to be growing up. Then in the morning, everyone would all have breakfast together. It was the closest thing I think I ever got to a coming-of-age ritual, and one of those things I remember feeling sort of unprepared for, which I guess was sort of the point.
Can I just say that I am so jealous of people who grew up in nondogmatic traditions like the UUs?
I grew up as both an atheist and as sort of a radical non-joiner, and these days I'm so atheist I've gone past atheism all the way to being an ontological nihilist — I don't just not believe in the existence of God, I don't believe in the existence of anything else, either — but even so I recognize the value of having a community where people of all ages come together to ponder the imponderable and eff the ineffable and all that. When I read stories about growing up UU, I feel this intense sensation of there being something missing from the life I had as a kid, even though I never would have sought that thing out myself at the time.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:54 PM on July 28, 2016 [10 favorites]
Can I just say that I am so jealous of people who grew up in nondogmatic traditions like the UUs?
I grew up as both an atheist and as sort of a radical non-joiner, and these days I'm so atheist I've gone past atheism all the way to being an ontological nihilist — I don't just not believe in the existence of God, I don't believe in the existence of anything else, either — but even so I recognize the value of having a community where people of all ages come together to ponder the imponderable and eff the ineffable and all that. When I read stories about growing up UU, I feel this intense sensation of there being something missing from the life I had as a kid, even though I never would have sought that thing out myself at the time.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:54 PM on July 28, 2016 [10 favorites]
I was a few years older than the kids in the movie when this came out, and I remember seeing it and strongly relating to Wil Wheaton's character Gordy in some ways. It's funny though, the thing that gets me now, is the effect of the music... it's like a nostalgia sledge hammer of feels. Whoever came up with the idea to open the movie with the slowed down, instrumental theme from the song Stand By Me was a genius.
Edit: It was Jack Nitzsche (RIP)
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 4:38 PM on July 28, 2016
Edit: It was Jack Nitzsche (RIP)
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 4:38 PM on July 28, 2016
I'm creeped out by UU now because almost immediately when my wife left me and my personal life started getting harder, people I knew started none-too-subtly pushing me to join. I make a point of not trusting organizations that recruit people at their most emotionally vulnerable moments in life... My hang up. Everybody says UU's great. I feel no need to belong to any sort of formal church though...
Man, this movie was my absolute favorite as a kid--perfectly relatable and poignant and romantic, but realistic at the same time. They don't make 'em like that anymore--except sort of Stranger Things, I guess...
posted by saulgoodman at 4:40 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Man, this movie was my absolute favorite as a kid--perfectly relatable and poignant and romantic, but realistic at the same time. They don't make 'em like that anymore--except sort of Stranger Things, I guess...
posted by saulgoodman at 4:40 PM on July 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
When I was eight, my dad was in a pretty horrific car accident that would have killed him if he hadn't been wearing a seat belt. As it was, he was in the hospital for weeks. During that time, my mom took me, my brother (four years old), and my best friend to see this movie in the theaters. For years it was a bit of a family joke because she was like "hey, movie about kids on an adventure!" when it's really not a movie for four and eight year olds. Of course, she was just looking for something to take everyone's minds off this horrible thing that was happening in our lives.
Anyway, I think because of that, I've always had very intense feelings about Stand By Me. I think the ending was maybe the first real glimpse of adult sadness and regret I remember recognizing and feeling in a movie. That stayed with me.
Just watching this retrospective, all the stuff between Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix's two characters just kills me, because it captures a particular, painful, stage of development so perfectly: when you're still a kid and you want to be goofy with your friends, but you've also started to outgrow them a bit. This happens several times in childhood and adolescence. Sometimes you have another friend who's right there with you and sometimes you don't, and the movie captures really beautifully what a difference it makes if you do.
Can I just say that I am so jealous of people who grew up in nondogmatic traditions like the UUs?
If it makes you feel better, my UU church did nothing nearly that awesome. Though we did get the great sex-ed curriculum.
posted by lunasol at 4:51 PM on July 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
Anyway, I think because of that, I've always had very intense feelings about Stand By Me. I think the ending was maybe the first real glimpse of adult sadness and regret I remember recognizing and feeling in a movie. That stayed with me.
Just watching this retrospective, all the stuff between Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix's two characters just kills me, because it captures a particular, painful, stage of development so perfectly: when you're still a kid and you want to be goofy with your friends, but you've also started to outgrow them a bit. This happens several times in childhood and adolescence. Sometimes you have another friend who's right there with you and sometimes you don't, and the movie captures really beautifully what a difference it makes if you do.
Can I just say that I am so jealous of people who grew up in nondogmatic traditions like the UUs?
If it makes you feel better, my UU church did nothing nearly that awesome. Though we did get the great sex-ed curriculum.
posted by lunasol at 4:51 PM on July 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
> I make a point of not trusting organizations that recruit people at their most emotionally vulnerable moments in life...
Heh, I'm with you there — frankly, one of the ways that I'm like so totes gen-x is that I tend not to trust organizations that recruit at all. But I've got a real respect for how religious institutions can productively structure life, and so as a result I've got a soft spot for benign / nondogmatic religious-ish organizations.
Sometimes I say that, deep down, I'm religious but not spiritual.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:53 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Heh, I'm with you there — frankly, one of the ways that I'm like so totes gen-x is that I tend not to trust organizations that recruit at all. But I've got a real respect for how religious institutions can productively structure life, and so as a result I've got a soft spot for benign / nondogmatic religious-ish organizations.
Sometimes I say that, deep down, I'm religious but not spiritual.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 4:53 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
this was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, I was maybe eight or nine and watching it on fresh VHS right out in the open on my friend's living room tv. she said it was fine and her parents neither knew nor cared but I was sure any moment some officers of the law or the MPAA would come break down the door to arrest us so I could not relax.
there's a DEAD BODY in that movie!!! did you know? what is the statute of limitations on illicitly watching restricted scenes without a parent or guardian, is it safe for me to disclose this? not that any fit parent or guardian would have let us, the vomiting scene was perhaps the most unsavory thing I had ever witnessed, perhaps most perfectly captures on film what I cannot take about Stephen King in writing even though I like him in certain airplane moods, and I have never wanted to see it ever again.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:06 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
there's a DEAD BODY in that movie!!! did you know? what is the statute of limitations on illicitly watching restricted scenes without a parent or guardian, is it safe for me to disclose this? not that any fit parent or guardian would have let us, the vomiting scene was perhaps the most unsavory thing I had ever witnessed, perhaps most perfectly captures on film what I cannot take about Stephen King in writing even though I like him in certain airplane moods, and I have never wanted to see it ever again.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:06 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
this was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, I was maybe eight or nine and watching it on fresh VHS right out in the open on my friend's living room tv.
What? No way Stand By Me was rated R, right? I know I saw it in theatre and I was born in 1976, so I guess I was 10?
(Note: Canadian, and I know our ratings didn't always match up with the USA. Still, it must have been PG up here)
Edit: Huh. I checked IMDB and it says it was R in the States and PG in Canada. That is CRAZY.
posted by joelhunt at 5:14 PM on July 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
What? No way Stand By Me was rated R, right? I know I saw it in theatre and I was born in 1976, so I guess I was 10?
(Note: Canadian, and I know our ratings didn't always match up with the USA. Still, it must have been PG up here)
Edit: Huh. I checked IMDB and it says it was R in the States and PG in Canada. That is CRAZY.
posted by joelhunt at 5:14 PM on July 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
I saw this movie in the theate on my own as part of a double feature with Peggy Sue Got Married. I was a teen and it was PG-13 here in Canada.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 5:15 PM on July 28, 2016
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 5:15 PM on July 28, 2016
Can I just say that I am so jealous of people who grew up in nondogmatic traditions like the UUs?
I've got a real respect for how religious institutions can productively structure life
UU was great in some ways, but it didn't really give me that structure either. I know the kinds of shit other people had to grow up with, so it feels precious to complain that people always told me I could believe whatever I wanted to believe and do whatever I wanted to do, but that didn't make me as happy as you might imagine.
What I wanted more than anything was to have a sense of definition - of myself, of the world and the universe- and there was no way to get that from a place where there was literally no wrong answer. Don't believe in God? Let's talk about what that means to you. I'm sure that sounds great, but it would have been nice to have someone be willing to disagree. I felt like I was constantly having to guess what my boundaries were because no one wanted to say no to me. It's not like those boundaries didn't exist, but it felt like they weren't talked about because I was supposed to be blazing this great path for myself.
I ended up leaving the church when I was 14 because I realized I wasn't getting anything from it. I have plenty of fond memories, including the night we watched this movie. But I wasn't kidding when I said it was basically my only coming of age experience. My friends were having bar mitzvahs and so on, and I got oven pizza and one night watching a good movie with the other kids. It's a wonderful memory, but sometimes there's something to be said for being part of something a little more straightforward and ordinary.
posted by teponaztli at 5:21 PM on July 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've got a real respect for how religious institutions can productively structure life
UU was great in some ways, but it didn't really give me that structure either. I know the kinds of shit other people had to grow up with, so it feels precious to complain that people always told me I could believe whatever I wanted to believe and do whatever I wanted to do, but that didn't make me as happy as you might imagine.
What I wanted more than anything was to have a sense of definition - of myself, of the world and the universe- and there was no way to get that from a place where there was literally no wrong answer. Don't believe in God? Let's talk about what that means to you. I'm sure that sounds great, but it would have been nice to have someone be willing to disagree. I felt like I was constantly having to guess what my boundaries were because no one wanted to say no to me. It's not like those boundaries didn't exist, but it felt like they weren't talked about because I was supposed to be blazing this great path for myself.
I ended up leaving the church when I was 14 because I realized I wasn't getting anything from it. I have plenty of fond memories, including the night we watched this movie. But I wasn't kidding when I said it was basically my only coming of age experience. My friends were having bar mitzvahs and so on, and I got oven pizza and one night watching a good movie with the other kids. It's a wonderful memory, but sometimes there's something to be said for being part of something a little more straightforward and ordinary.
posted by teponaztli at 5:21 PM on July 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
I was going to say, I remember it being R-rated so well and it totally deserved to be what with the egg scene, but maybe my friend lied to me to scare me, I was gullible back then since it was was the year before I decided to hate authority and break the rules. same friend narrated much of Nightmare on Elm Street's plot to me and since I already knew she was a terrible liar I decided she had made the whole franchise thing up to fuck with me because in a just universe such things could not be imagined, let alone depicted and committed to film. fingernail through someone's eyeball is the most horrible movie scene of my youth and I never even watched it, just had it told to me by a bastard grade-schooler.
someday my terrible youth will be the subject of a landmark movie of its own. no boys, lots of meta-narrative about truth and lies, no vomiting. no dead bodies either. or not ones that have been lying around for a couple weeks, only fresh ones. that's my vision.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:27 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
someday my terrible youth will be the subject of a landmark movie of its own. no boys, lots of meta-narrative about truth and lies, no vomiting. no dead bodies either. or not ones that have been lying around for a couple weeks, only fresh ones. that's my vision.
posted by queenofbithynia at 5:27 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's kind of sad that we just have super hero movies now. That's all my son watches in the theaters.
posted by My Dad at 5:31 PM on July 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by My Dad at 5:31 PM on July 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
I was a couple years older than the characters in the film. Just old enough to see I'd never have friends again like those from childhood I had already begun losing slowly.
I'm glad Stranger Things was mentioned here. It does hit similar notes for me. (Though it'd have been better without the evil scientist trope which jumped the shark shortly after ET.)
posted by persona au gratin at 5:33 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm glad Stranger Things was mentioned here. It does hit similar notes for me. (Though it'd have been better without the evil scientist trope which jumped the shark shortly after ET.)
posted by persona au gratin at 5:33 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I went to see a movie on the weekend and I remarked to my wife that the last time I went to that cinema was when I was a kid to see Stand By Me.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:34 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:34 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
> What I wanted more than anything was to have a sense of definition - of myself, of the world and the universe- and there was no way to get that from a place where there was literally no wrong answer. Don't believe in God? Let's talk about what that means to you. I'm sure that sounds great, but it would have been nice to have someone be willing to disagree. I felt like I was constantly having to guess what my boundaries were because no one wanted to say no to me.
Oh, yeah, I get that. Probably the only reason that anecdote struck me so much is that from my perspective, that's so much structure, comparatively. My parents were disinclined to talk about any of the Big Things, ever, and so I had no real way to talk with anyone about the rolling existential crisis that started for me at like six and never properly went away.
And that's, I admit, not the normal perspective — the normal perspective's people who grew up in mainline traditions.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:38 PM on July 28, 2016
Oh, yeah, I get that. Probably the only reason that anecdote struck me so much is that from my perspective, that's so much structure, comparatively. My parents were disinclined to talk about any of the Big Things, ever, and so I had no real way to talk with anyone about the rolling existential crisis that started for me at like six and never properly went away.
And that's, I admit, not the normal perspective — the normal perspective's people who grew up in mainline traditions.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:38 PM on July 28, 2016
It's kind of sad that we just have super hero movies now. That's all my son watches in the theaters
I have a list of films my kids will be required to watch. The oldest is 7. So far we've made it through (well all Star Wars and Pixar of course) but specific to me, the wrath of khan and pee wee's big adventure. We started The Goonies, but it was a bit much and we'll try again next year. Stand By Me will likely be next around age 10. Big League could probably happen any time, but I'm waiting for the full blossom of baseball fandom. The coup de gras will be the extended Lord of the Rings Trilogy around age 13. And of course Harold and Maude at 15.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:58 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have a list of films my kids will be required to watch. The oldest is 7. So far we've made it through (well all Star Wars and Pixar of course) but specific to me, the wrath of khan and pee wee's big adventure. We started The Goonies, but it was a bit much and we'll try again next year. Stand By Me will likely be next around age 10. Big League could probably happen any time, but I'm waiting for the full blossom of baseball fandom. The coup de gras will be the extended Lord of the Rings Trilogy around age 13. And of course Harold and Maude at 15.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:58 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have a list of films my kids will be required to watch.
I've found it gets more difficult to suggest movies to my 13 year old, although he did enjoy Ferris Bueller's Day off (*the* movie of the summer I turned 13).
posted by My Dad at 8:11 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've found it gets more difficult to suggest movies to my 13 year old, although he did enjoy Ferris Bueller's Day off (*the* movie of the summer I turned 13).
posted by My Dad at 8:11 PM on July 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
1984 "This Is Spinal Tap"
1985 "The Sure Thing"
1986 "Stand by Me"
1987 "The Princess Bride"
1989 "When Harry Met Sally..."
1990 "Misery"
1992 "A Few Good Men"
Rob Reiner had a heck of a streak...
posted by Marky at 9:02 PM on July 28, 2016 [10 favorites]
1985 "The Sure Thing"
1986 "Stand by Me"
1987 "The Princess Bride"
1989 "When Harry Met Sally..."
1990 "Misery"
1992 "A Few Good Men"
Rob Reiner had a heck of a streak...
posted by Marky at 9:02 PM on July 28, 2016 [10 favorites]
UU feels very different to me now than it did when I was a kid. My limited exposure to it as an adult left me feeling like it was trying way too hard to be inoffensive and extra nice to everybody. I don't know that I could find anything that deep in an environment where I had to constantly walk on eggshells. I think that a lot of what I believe now came from early exposure to UU, but at least as much came from early '80s Defenders comic books. It's just really hard to say.
Back on topic, though, it may be apropos to note that Stephen King's daughter is a UU minister.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:46 PM on July 28, 2016
Back on topic, though, it may be apropos to note that Stephen King's daughter is a UU minister.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:46 PM on July 28, 2016
Jesus, how has thirty years passed by already? I first saw this movie when I was twelve, the same age as the characters, and I loved it. It is the first thing I remember that gave me some insight into what was meant by nostalgia--even though since I was still living my childhood, not looking back on it, I could not really understand the feeling exactly.
The soundtrack was the first cassette tape I bought myself, with my babysitting money. Now that I'm the age of the adult Gordie, listening to that soundtrack slams me right back to being twelve years old, watching Stand By Me on VHS with a group of my other twelve year old friends. Definitely makes me pensive and nostalgic.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:28 AM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
The soundtrack was the first cassette tape I bought myself, with my babysitting money. Now that I'm the age of the adult Gordie, listening to that soundtrack slams me right back to being twelve years old, watching Stand By Me on VHS with a group of my other twelve year old friends. Definitely makes me pensive and nostalgic.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:28 AM on July 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's a reference to the film in the first 5 minutes of Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow. At the start, if you check out the TV in your house you get a message that says:
posted by jiroczech at 6:38 AM on July 29, 2016
There's a movie on TV.Wow. Written like that it looks like a haiku. Anyway, just rediscovered that after picking up Yellow on a Pokemon Go come down (I've decided life's too short to play Pokemon Go).
Four boys are walking on railroad tracks.
I better go to.
posted by jiroczech at 6:38 AM on July 29, 2016
My son was 13 when we saw it (US), but we accompanied him, so I guess then it didn't matter it was -R.
He was super impressed at how 'real' the kids were. He felt like he knew them.
I didn't read 'The Body' until a few years later. The screenplay almost exactly followed the book. In the book, there were two short stories that were not part of main story line. The pie-eating contest was the good one, and they kept that, but the other one I thought was stupid. Glad that was cut.
posted by MtDewd at 6:56 AM on July 29, 2016
He was super impressed at how 'real' the kids were. He felt like he knew them.
I didn't read 'The Body' until a few years later. The screenplay almost exactly followed the book. In the book, there were two short stories that were not part of main story line. The pie-eating contest was the good one, and they kept that, but the other one I thought was stupid. Glad that was cut.
posted by MtDewd at 6:56 AM on July 29, 2016
It's also kind of amazing that The Body is in the same novella collection as The Shawshank Redemption - two such great movies. Also, I think, a lesson in how much more smoothly it can work to adapt a novella, rather than a long novel, simply because of length.
The collection also has The Apt Pupil. I haven't seen the movie, but the novella is both terrifying and haunting.
posted by lunasol at 7:24 AM on July 29, 2016
The collection also has The Apt Pupil. I haven't seen the movie, but the novella is both terrifying and haunting.
posted by lunasol at 7:24 AM on July 29, 2016
Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I was allowed to watch as a pre-teen. It really stuck with me over the years - that adolescent awkward growing up and regret and whatnot. The kid actors (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, and Corey Feldman) did such an excellent job.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:28 AM on July 29, 2016
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:28 AM on July 29, 2016
Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I ever saw.
When I was a kid, my cousins and I often stayed with my grandparents and every Friday night my grandmother would take the three of us to the movie store. We always rented Stand By Me. We rented their one copy so often that we finally wore it out. But not before we had memorized every line.
posted by honey.orange.honey at 8:46 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I was a kid, my cousins and I often stayed with my grandparents and every Friday night my grandmother would take the three of us to the movie store. We always rented Stand By Me. We rented their one copy so often that we finally wore it out. But not before we had memorized every line.
posted by honey.orange.honey at 8:46 PM on July 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Read these excerpts from the comments here, read them in a Richard Dreyfuss, voice... The sentences sound like the first line to the movie: " I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being. It happened in the summer of 1959-a long time ago, but only if you measure in terms of years"
"My family went to a Unitarian Universalist church when I was a kid. The church had a tradition of having their 6th grade Sunday school class have a sleepover at the start of the year so we could all eat pizza, watch Stand By Me together, and talk about what it meant to be growing up. Then in the morning, everyone would all have breakfast together."
"I was a few years older than the kids in the movie when this came out, and I remember seeing it and strongly relating to Wil Wheaton's character Gordy in some ways. It's funny though, the thing that gets me now, is the effect of the music... "
"When I was eight, my dad was in a pretty horrific car accident that would have killed him if he hadn't been wearing a seat belt. As it was, he was in the hospital for weeks. During that time, my mom took me, my brother (four years old), and my best friend to see this movie in the theaters. "
"I was a few years older than the kids in the movie when this came out, ...."
"this was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, I was maybe eight or nine and watching it on fresh VHS right out in the open on my friend's living room tv. ..."
"I was a couple years older than the characters in the film. Just old enough to see I'd never have friends again like those from childhood I had already begun losing slowly. ..."
"Jesus, how has thirty years passed by already? ..."
"I went to see a movie on the weekend and I remarked to my wife that the last time I went to that cinema was when I was a kid to see Stand By Me."
"My son was 13 when we saw it (US), but we accompanied him, so I guess then it didn't matter it was -R. He was super impressed at how 'real' the kids were. He felt like he knew them....."
"Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I was allowed to watch as a pre-teen."
"Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I ever saw. When I was a kid, my cousins and I often stayed with my grandparents and every Friday night my grandmother would take the three of us to the movie store. We always rented Stand By Me. We rented their one copy so often that we finally wore it out. But not before we had memorized every line..
This film slipped under my radar when it was first released, a year or so later my 16 year old son told me about it (He and I were both S. King fans). I found a VHS copy of the movie and, to this day, can remember the joy of watching that film, and the minutes of sitting silently after it ended... what a simple yet powerful film. I realize, in writing this, that, although I've seen this film probably hundreds of times, I've never seen it on the big screen... guess I need to put that on my bucket list.
And, folks, thanks for your memories and thoughts on this movie. It is, without doubt, my favorite film for a number of reasons, it's been nice to hear from others about it...
posted by HuronBob at 6:10 AM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
"My family went to a Unitarian Universalist church when I was a kid. The church had a tradition of having their 6th grade Sunday school class have a sleepover at the start of the year so we could all eat pizza, watch Stand By Me together, and talk about what it meant to be growing up. Then in the morning, everyone would all have breakfast together."
"I was a few years older than the kids in the movie when this came out, and I remember seeing it and strongly relating to Wil Wheaton's character Gordy in some ways. It's funny though, the thing that gets me now, is the effect of the music... "
"When I was eight, my dad was in a pretty horrific car accident that would have killed him if he hadn't been wearing a seat belt. As it was, he was in the hospital for weeks. During that time, my mom took me, my brother (four years old), and my best friend to see this movie in the theaters. "
"I was a few years older than the kids in the movie when this came out, ...."
"this was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, I was maybe eight or nine and watching it on fresh VHS right out in the open on my friend's living room tv. ..."
"I was a couple years older than the characters in the film. Just old enough to see I'd never have friends again like those from childhood I had already begun losing slowly. ..."
"Jesus, how has thirty years passed by already? ..."
"I went to see a movie on the weekend and I remarked to my wife that the last time I went to that cinema was when I was a kid to see Stand By Me."
"My son was 13 when we saw it (US), but we accompanied him, so I guess then it didn't matter it was -R. He was super impressed at how 'real' the kids were. He felt like he knew them....."
"Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I was allowed to watch as a pre-teen."
"Stand By Me was the first R-rated movie I ever saw. When I was a kid, my cousins and I often stayed with my grandparents and every Friday night my grandmother would take the three of us to the movie store. We always rented Stand By Me. We rented their one copy so often that we finally wore it out. But not before we had memorized every line..
This film slipped under my radar when it was first released, a year or so later my 16 year old son told me about it (He and I were both S. King fans). I found a VHS copy of the movie and, to this day, can remember the joy of watching that film, and the minutes of sitting silently after it ended... what a simple yet powerful film. I realize, in writing this, that, although I've seen this film probably hundreds of times, I've never seen it on the big screen... guess I need to put that on my bucket list.
And, folks, thanks for your memories and thoughts on this movie. It is, without doubt, my favorite film for a number of reasons, it's been nice to hear from others about it...
posted by HuronBob at 6:10 AM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Gordie: Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?posted by y2karl at 7:55 AM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
Vern: If I could only have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy-Pez. Cherry-flavored Pez. No question about it.
Teddy: Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog.
Gordie: I knew the $64,000 question was fixed. There's no way anybody could know that much about opera!
Chris: He can't be a dog. He drives a car and wears a hat.
Gordie: Wagon Train's a really cool show, but did you notice they never get anywhere? They just keep wagon training.
Vern: Oh, God. That's weird. What the hell is Goofy?
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