Stand by Me (1986): Favourite Films Series

 Stand by Me (1986): Favourite Films Series

 

One of the pieces of writing advice Stephen King offers in his seminal On Writing is to work on a smaller project after completing a longer writing project. He mentions having written some “pretty good novellas” in between some of his most famous novels, and one of those novellas was “The Body” in the collection Different Seasons—the same collection that features “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”, which was later made into one of the greatest movies of all-time, The Shawshank Redemption. Before that, though, “The Body” was made into Stand By Me, and while it might not be that comparable or have quite the same notability as Shawshank, Stand By Me is one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King story, and one of the best films of its kind.

It’s a pretty simple, straightforward coming-of-age story, and unlike some of King’s shorter pieces of fiction, it isn’t stretched to more than it should be for the film adaptation, clocking in at just under 90 minutes including credits. It’s just about four characters who we get to know very well over the course of the Labour Day long weekend. Even with it being set in the 1950’s and the characters being adolescent boys, there will be at least one everyone can identify with, sympathize with, and be engaged by in order to stick with them for their adventure. Vern (Jerry O’Connell) overhears a conversation between his older brother and his friend about a kid who was killed by a train and discovers the location of the body, so when he tells his friends Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Teddy (Corey Feldman) and Chris (River Phoenix) about it, they decide to go look for the body and find it themselves. As cheesy as it sounds, they also find themselves along the way.

The casting for the kids had to be perfect in order for it work, and it was. Wil Wheaton really gives it his all, as do all of them, but with him most prominent in the group (also the one telling the story, with Richard Dreyfuss playing adult Gordie and narrating, which sometimes feels a little unnecessary but doesn’t really detract from the film), he gets multiple moments to shine, especially when he lashes out at the others with raw emotion. All of them get at least one memorable moment to stand out, and other supporting characters do as well, such as the detestable antagonist “Ace” played by a young Kiefer Sutherland. He’s detestable, but really good; Sutherland is menacing and fits right in with the era in which the story is set.

The first time I saw Stand By Me was on TV when I was about ten years old. What I liked about it was it featured kids my age, but clearly wasn’t a movie designed for kids. Even though the swearing was censored, it still felt a little like I was getting away with watching something I might not supposed to be (of course, my mom was the one who encouraged me to change the channel in the other room and watch it with my friend). We missed the first part and started watching when they first start walking down the train tracks, but caught up with the storyline pretty quick. Not long after we tuned in, the quartet has to outrun the train, which is one of the standout moments of the whole film. It’s a very well done and intense event, and the kids really sell it. Apparently the director, Rob Reiner, motivated the kids to be scared with some pretty intense threats, but it seems it worked and paid off.

The adventure is an interesting dichotomy of fun and sadness. The purpose for their adventure is sad, and there are moments when they stop to acknowledge this, even before they actually get to the body, but the journey itself is full of fun times. I love the scene when they sit around the campfire at night and give Gordie a chance to show off his storytelling skills, spinning a hilarious yarn about a kid named Lard Ass who sabotages a pie-eating contest, then it progresses to the boys asking philosophical questions—philosophical for 1950’s adolescents, anyway, like what kind of animal Goofy is. Silly question, right? He’s a dog…isn’t he?

Another thing I love about this movie is the setting. It reminds me of where I live, with a distinct North American west coast woodland vibe. A lot of it was shot in Oregon, but it’s set in the fictional town of Castle Rock (a location Stephen King fans will know well). The train tracks serve as their path that cuts through the wilderness, and the way they playfully walk and stop and hang out reminded me so much of how it used to be with my friends when we would hang out in our neighborhood. It also captures that specific kind of sense of summer ending, with it taking place during Labour Day right before school starts. They talk about going back to school after their final summer adventure, and it works really well with the whole story being framed as a look back at a special time in Gordie’s childhood.

I’m going to wrap up by circling back to where I started and say I think it’s pretty cool that Stand By Me is based on one of Stephen King’s novellas from Different Seasons, because just like Shawshank Redemption, it’s one of the best Stephen King movie adaptations that’s not in the horror genre. He became most well-known for his scary stories, but King’s writing, at its best, is more than just about making readers afraid. Unlike Shawshank, Stand By Me is short and sweet, passing by very fast but not feeling like anything is missing. It’s just exactly right, and despite the R-rating, I think it’s a movie made for everyone.