Stand by Me (1986)
Retro Review #68: “You guys wanna go see a dead body?” Thatʼs what friends are for.
Stand by Me (1986)
+ Feature film, 1h 29m🎖️
+ Based on literature (novella) The Body (1982)❗by Stephen King ⭐
+ 2️⃣/2 works in Stand by Me multiverse ⭐
A+>
Grade: A+> (20.0) / HOF: 60
EQ 👍A++ | 📖A+ 👥A+ 📽️A+ 🎼A+
DW 🕶️🕶️10.1 | 🌚11 🌝10
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R 💻⬇️2️⃣ 👀⬇️1️⃣ 🛐⬇️3️⃣
Bad people can create good art. I don’t have to mention names, but you will know who I am referring to when I point out a mega-star pop artist accused of being a child molester or a famous comedian accused by multiple women of sexual assault.
I do not consider Stephen King or Rob Reiner to be good people. I’m not saying they compare to the examples I just cited. They don’t. However they have both made nasty, bigoted, borderline-vile generalizations against Christian conservatives, of which I am one.
Perhaps King and Reiner are more good than bad. I don’t know them personally. But from their public statements I know they have hatred in their hearts for people like me, whom they don’t know personally, and who have a different worldview from theirs.
Nevertheless, the movie Stand by Me, based on a novella by King and directed by Reiner is an exceptionally good film, one of the best of the 1980s.
For the most part, the anti-Christian worldviews of the film’s creators are not promoted in Stand by Me, although death is a major theme of the movie and treated from a humanist viewpoint that assumes death is final and tragic.
There is a surprising moment in the movie where one character refers to the talent of another as a gift from God. I’m not sure how that line sneaked into the screenplay—maybe due to the writers who adapted the King novella.
There are also a lot of blasphemous profanities in the film, not to mention numerous obscenities. Much of this is from the mouths of twelve-year-olds and the rest from teenagers. The excessive language earns the film an R-rating, and although there is little sex or violence, the movie is definitely for adults only, in spite of being a story about young boys.
And yet, in spite of these flaws in Stand by Me, I still recommend the film to adults, even to Christian conservatives. (As Christians who believe we are all sinners, would there be any movies to watch at all if we eliminated all films made by bad people?)
First, Stand by Me is a cultural touchstone, an iconic 80s film that still resonates today and can be a great conversation starter with anyone who has seen it.
Second, it is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and though not perfect, contains much truth and some positive messages, despite the humanist worldview.
Stand by Me is a summertime story of four young boys, about to enter seventh grade, who go on an overnight hike to see the dead body of a boy their own age.
The movie is a coming-of-age drama with both dark and comedic overtones that combine with the youthful point of view to make it Pure Dark Whimsy in my book—in this case Pure Dark Whimzy due to the adults-only language.
Set mostly in bright sunshine that contrasts with the grim portrayal of a lower-working-class 1959 Oregon town, Stand by Me deals with some dark topics that also overshadow the sunlight. When nightfall comes it feels like the story is now in sync with the mood, but daylight returns and the dissonance remains jarring for the remainder of the movie. Death is ever present in the story, but child abandonment and child abuse are also explored a bit. Self-image is a core component of the coming-of-age portion of the narrative.
The two primary characters discuss topics with more adult insight than you would actually get from sixth-graders in real life, but you won’t mind because the story and tone make those scenes deeply touching.
More than even death, Stand by Me is about friendship. Director Reiner gets solid performances from all four young actors playing the group of friends, who all went on to be notable in different ways, coincidentally paralleling their characters to some extent.
Beautifully photographed and set to well-known 1950s rock hits, Stand by Me is as moving a story about friendship as you will ever see. It’s also one of the most accurate portrayals I’ve ever seen of the emotions boys feel when they are just beginning to become men.
I highly recommend Stand by Me for a first viewing or a revisit. If excessive language bothers you, then I highly recommend using a filtering service like VidAngel dot com, to remove the distraction and allow you to enjoy the many strong points of this film.
Onwards!
+ last viewed (3) 2025-05-02, HDX7, 1.85v, 1M
+ first viewed 1986, ThX, 1.85, 1
+ ⏳⛱️🛡️😏😥🌑🥸
+ ❌2️⃣ Moderate adults-only content. | R
+ 😡-0 😵💫-0 🤬-3^ 🤭-0 🫣+0
+ 👀⬇️1️⃣ ➖😐
+ ✝️ -1 ➕❤️ ➖🤬🤬🤬
+ ✡️ -1 ➕(✡️)🤍 ➖🤬🤬🤬
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Last updated 2025-05-04
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