Films > Film Reviews

Stand By Me

18/07/16

Stand By Me is a film based on a novel by the famous writer Stephen King, but it’s not a horror story. It’s a film about companionship and adventure all set in a beautiful 50’s world. And to top it all off, a brilliant soundtrack full of finger-clicking 50’s tunes.

It’s all about four friends who embark on a long adventure to find a dead boy’s missing body. Our main character is a twelve year old boy called Gordie who is a brilliant writer and has recently had to deal with the passing away of his older brother. He’s in a gang with three other boys the same age as him - Chris, the leader, who is Gordie’s best friend. Next is Vern, a rather plump young man that is, how shall we say, a “pussy”, but is the one that knows roughly where this missing body is. Lastly we have Teddy, a war loving fearless kid who has a reckless father.

This film is definitely what they would call a emotional rollercoaster, with bits that make you laugh out loud and then bits that make you want to reassure them that it’s all going to be fine. One of my favorite parts was the Lardass Hogan story that was read by Gordie on the first night of their journey, a story about another rather plump child that turns a pie eating contest into a barfaria, a scene brilliantly put together by director Rob Reiner. Another great thing about this film is that if, like me, you are a little older than these innocent kids then you can relate to how they are feeling and their wonderful sense of adventure. For example, when they are camping at night; instead of talking about girls or any of the other things teenagers are supposed to talk about, they are more interested in working out it if Goofy is actually a dog. I’m saying yes he is. Another amusing thing is seeing them trying to be cool and tough even though they are just twelve year old kids that don’t know a thing yet. I’m sure we all remember thinking we were really tough at that age!

As a massive fan of 50’s and 60’s music this film was perfect for me, with use of the music of legend Ben E King (no need to guess what song was used) and also The Del - Vikings this really made me feel like I was experiencing a two day road trip along with the boys.

I can definitely see why this film is seen as a classic; even watching it for the first time in 2016, at the age of 15, there is literally nothing not to like about it. You will be smiling all the way through whether it’s at the beautiful setting or at the music that made me want to clap and sing along, or how relatable the characters are. There is no doubt this film has held its own and will 100% continue to do so.