Stand By Me (1986)
#78 on my Top 100 List
It's interesting that this is based on a Stephen King novella and really isn't scary at all. It doesn't try to be - that's not the point. It's a very good coming-of-age story, given a touch of tragedy by the casting of River Phoenix in the role of the bad boy whose death as an adult sparks the telling of the story. As he fades from the screen in the end, under a voiceover telling of his death, you can't help but equate the character to River Phoenix himself. This movie's tone has one of the best arcs in the movie, starting as an innocent adventure into the woods in search of a dead body and ending as a deep and nuanced fable about growing up. Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell are awesome as the young sidekicks, but the greatest moment comes when skinny little Wil Wheaton pulls a gun on Keifer Sutherland and says "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood." That ranks right up there with Brittany Murphy's way harsh "You're a virgin who can't drive" from Clueless and Larisa Oleynik's condescending "You're asking me out? That's so cute - what's your name again?" from 10 Things I Hate About You in the pantheon of teen movie insults.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
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