Stand by Me

Stand by Me is a 1986 adventure-drama film directed by Rob Reiner. The title comes from a song with the same title by Ben E. King (which plays during the closing credits) and is based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, who called it his favorite adaptation of one of his works up to that point.

This is a coming of age film set in the fictional Castle Rock, Oregon in 1959. It portrays a journey embarked upon by four 12-year-old boys across the woodlands near their hometown to see the dead body of another boy who was close to their own age. The film is told through the recollections of the main character, Gordie Lachance, a freelance writer. It describes how his friend Vern overheard his older brother discussing the body of a missing boy after accidentally coming across it in the woods with his friend.

The lead characters go on a journey into the woods to find the body of a boy named Ray Brower, who was struck by a train while picking berries in the woods. Through the boys' misadventures and conversations, the viewer learns about each character's personality. Each of the boys, for varying reasons, lives in the shadow of their fathers and older brothers. Gordie's talent for storytelling (as illustrated by his improvised short story "Lard-Ass") pegs him as the most likely of the four to have a promising future.

The film contrasts the four main characters, who are depicted as well-meaning and relatively virtuous, with a gang of bullies led by a local hood, "Ace" Merrill.

Cast:
Wil Wheaton - Gordie Lachance
River Phoenix - Chris Chambers
Corey Feldman - Teddy Duchamp
Jerry O'Connell - Vern Tessio
Kiefer Sutherland - John "Ace" Merrill
Casey Siemaszko - Billy Tessio
Gary Riley - Charlie Hogan
Bradley Gregg - Richard "Eyeball" Chambers
John Cusack - Denny Lachance
Marshall Bell - Mr. Lachance
Frances Lee McCain - Mrs. Lachance
Bruce Kirby - Mr.Quidacioluo
Scott Beach - Mayor Grundy
Richard Dreyfuss - Gordie as an Adult/The Writer

Director:
Rob Reiner

DVD Review
By S. Sarhan "matured reviewer" (Dearborn, Michigan United States)
This review is from: Stand By Me (Special Edition) (DVD)

Stand By Me has always been one of my all-time favorite movies. The chemistry between the four boys out to find the body of a kid their age has always been an inspiration for me growing up.

Rob Reiner's direction is tops. How he managed to get those four boys to act their hearts out is still a mystery today. The best comes out of River Phoenix as the troubled leader of the pack Chris Chambers, and Jerry O' Connell's part as the way-too-innocent scaredy cat Vern Tessio, Corey Feldman's turn as the crazy Teddy Duchamp, and Will Wheaton as the narrator of the story, the more focused than the others Gordon Lachance. Cameos by Richard Dreyfuss as the older Gordon, and John Cusack as Gordon's deceased brother Denny add an overwhelming feeling of delight to the entirety of this magnificent movie.

Special features include a behind the scenes of the film plus interviews with nearly the entire cast, a tribute to River Phoenix, Ben E King's music video of the theme song Stand By Me and commentary by director Rob Reiner.

This is one of those movies that no matter how many times you've seen it, you don't get bored of watching again.

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Stand by Me Movie Trailer


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