Goonies 1985

Mike says that a few years ago, I started a phase where I began watching and collecting all the films of my youth (and no, the phase hasn't ended yet). I was excited to rewatch Goonies during this time, because I had so loved it as a kid. The truffle shuffle was a standard method of punishment in my house, and Data was one of my idols.

I think the reason I wanted to rewatch it so much is that I had scattered memories of all the best scenes: peeing in the cave, pulling the pipes, the bone organ, freeing the ship, "Hey You Guys!," big brother on the kiddie bike going off the cliff . . . you know, all the cool scenes that stood out amidst the filler stuff.

And when I finally rewatched it, well, I realized why those were the only scenes I remembered--because those scenes, those hilarious, stand out scenes, make up the entire movie! While this is very cool in that the movie is a non-stop adventure ride, well . . . that's about it. There's not much "filler," and sometimes, the stuff that happens in between the big scenes is what pulls a movie together.

Goonies is a great movie, and works very well, but the adventure is all you're getting out of this. The worried parents, the investigators looking for the kids, the clean-up of the disasters they caused are all possible side plots that are completely ignored. Even the small stuff, like how the kids got from one cave chamber to another (that seem to stretch throughout their entire town) is all passed over in favor of moving from one big scene to another.

Like I said, it makes for a fun movie. But, it's also a movie that sometimes feels more like a ride in an amusement park rather than an actual film.

Despite this mature conclusion that I've reached as a now educated adult, I still absolutely love this film, and laugh and enjoy almost every minute of it whenever I watch it. Sure, maybe a part of it is nostalgia (as Kate says, Nothing was ever really as good back in the "good old days" as we want to believe), but I think the major part is that this film reaches the kid still roaming around in my head and heart somewhere and makes him want to round up the neighborhood kids for one last adventure.

Kate says this movie is SO Chris Columbus.

It's fun with a total Disney-ride feel to it. And it doesn't pretend to be anything other than it is, but every now and again the difference between what it could be (nostalgic adventure a la Sandlot) and what it is (cutsy/smaltzy slapstick) is a little disconcerting. There's only so many crotch jokes a movie can provide before I start rolling my eyes.

Actually, the first false note for me was the appearance of the Asian kid. Not that I dislike Data, but it was so "token gesturish," I just shook my head. The monster brother, Sloth, also seemed totally over the top.

On the other hand, the movie's beginning does have that Sandlot feel. The kids form a believable group with natural family/friend interactions. The brothers' combination of teasing and affection is very real.

And every group has a Mouth.

The hunt for the treasure also starts naturally. The kids treat it as half-real, half-made-up, the way kids do play. Their blithe decision to investigate the wet Oregon countryside reminds me of my own childhood when my friends, siblings, and I would investigate the nearby woods.

But then . . . .well . . . there's lots of screaming. And more screaming. And silly bad guys. And the chubby kid saves the day.

I did find Chunk (Jeff Cohen) extremely amusing, especially all the stories he tells that nobody believes. Martha Pimpton, however, is easily the best actor out of the bunch with the strongest comedic timing ("This is ridiculous. It's crazy. I feel like I'm babysitting, except I'm not getting paid.")

The pirate ship floating past Cauldron Point is very cool. The most touching moment is still (I remembered it clearly) when Mikey "meets" One-Eyed Willie: "You know something, Willie? You're the first Goonie."

Complete side-note: I was CONVINCED that Elijah Wood was in this film with Sean Astin (before they worked together on LOTR). Actually, there is a 10 year difference in age which means Elijah Wood was 4 when Goonies was made. Who knew?!