#129: Stand By Me

Release Date: August 8th, 1986

Format: Streaming (Netflix)

Written by: Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon

Directed by: Rob Reiner

2.5 Stars

Stand By Me remains beloved by two different generations, the Boomers and Gen Xers. The Boomers are nostalgic of the 1950s setting of the film, with its doo-wop radio hits and hot rod racing, and Gen Xers are nostalgic of seeing this movie as kids in the mid-’80s, a solidly R-rated film that intended to show how kids actually are rather than the soft-edged portrayals that usually show up in this kind of movie.

And the setting is fun, and the child actors are endearing, but Stand By Me is also a whole lot of schmaltzy, coming-of-age triteness.  

Don’t get me wrong, there is a simple beauty in the idea of four boys setting off on foot to find a mysterious dead body in the Oregonian wilderness outside of their small town. There’s an undercurrent of menace and danger in that premise that maybe works in Stephen King’s short story on which the film is based, but I’m not sure Rob Reiner is exactly the right director to translate those emotions to the big screen.  

Instead I think his talents translated more into working with his young actors and capturing the feel and look of a certain time and place.

That is the legacy that Stand By Me has settled into: A warm look back at childhood (for two different generations) where a daring premise is smothered by a bit too much nostalgia and familiarity .