Movie Review: 'Stand by Me'

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“Stand by Me” is a moving coming-of-age comedy drama directed by Rob Reiner. Adapted from Stephen King’s novella The Body by screenwriter-producer Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, this 1986 comedy drama follows the misadventures of four pre-teen boys (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell) who hike through the woods outside the small town of Castle Rock, Oregon to look for a missing teen’s corpse.

Like director Robert Mulligan’s “Summer of ‘42” and other coming-of-age movies, “Stand by Me” is not a plot-driven movie. It’s a character piece that focuses on Gordie (Wheaton), Chris (Phoenix), Teddy (Feldman) and Vern (O’Connell) during a weekend-long trek in the Oregon woods to find a dead kid’s body before a band of teenage hoodlums led by Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) does.

On the surface, “Stand by Me” is one of those “small” films that are better suited for after school television specials than the silver screen. But King’s well-written novella is emotionally charged and features four memorable characters – Gordie Lachance, a smart and gentle writer-in-the-making; Chris Chambers, the tough-but-sensitive peacemaker; Teddy Duchamp, an angry kid who adores his volatile World War II vet dad; and Vern Tessio, the overweight naïve boy who is always picked on by bullies.

Knowing that most child actors act best when they essentially play themselves, director Reiner cast the four boys based on their personal traits. This makes the performances in “Stand by Me” feel raw and authentic.

In addition, screenwriters Evans and Gideon do a good job of distilling Stephen King’s mixture of humor and drama. They give the boys meaty bits of comic dialogue, such as this series of observations and witticisms:

Gordie: Alright, alright, Mickey's a mouse, Donald's a duck, Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?

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?

But lest the viewer get the idea that “Stand by Me” is a silly comedy, Reiner and his writers also inject some serious material that adds weight to the movie. Thus as in many of the best Stephen King stories, each character carries heavy emotional baggage that shapes his personality. For instance, Gordie is heartbroken; his older brother died recently, and his grieving parents treat Gordie like “the invisible boy.”

Gordie: Why did he have to die, Chris? Why did Denny have to die?

Chris: I don't know.

Gordie: It should've been me.

Chris: Don't say that.

Gordie: It should've been me.

Chris: Don't say that, man!

Gordie: I'm no good. My dad said it. I'm no good.

Chris: He doesn't know you.

Although Jerry O’Connell and Corey Feldman turn in good performances, “Stand by Me” is a showcase for Wil Wheaton and the late River Phoenix. Their portrayal of the Stephen King-like Gordie and Chris, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, is what made Reiner’s 88-minute-long movie such an enduring classic.

Perhaps the best accolade ever given to “Stand by Me” is Stephen King’s comment in a “making of” documentary that is one of extras in the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray edition of the movie. King said that Reiner had made the first successful translation to film of any of his works. (Reiner would later direct “Misery,” the 1990 adaptation of another King novel that made Kathy Bates a star.)

“Stand by Me” has long been a staple on home video since its release on videocassette in 1987. It was released on DVD in 2000 by Sony-owned Columbia-Tristar Home Video; Sony Home Entertainment has followed that release with the 2011 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Specifications   

  

Video


Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (24.59 Mbps)
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio



English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Mono (Original)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1


Subtitles



English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese


Discs


50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
movieIQ

Packaging
Slipcover in original pressing

Playback
Region free 

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