Sorry, this movie sucks

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Although it may seem contradictory due to me writing a rating, I decided to do this anyway. I decided to watch this since it's considered a classic. I'll just be blunt. This movie sucks. I wasted an hour and 28 minutes of my life. Movies this old need to at least capture you in the story since the acting of the 80's and 90's is laughable in modern times. Stand By Me is nothing more than a boring story of 4 kids following train tracks to see a dead body. It gives shallow meaning of "young friendship" and feels like a crappy version of The Sandlot. If you want to watch a classic King adaptation, watch Shawshank Redemption instead.Overall recommendation: Don't waste your time.

Stephen King makes his characters use so many expletives that they aren't real anymore. I was raised in the 1970s with the toughest kinds of kids in the backwater part of Pensacola, Florida called Ferry Pass. My friends were like the ones in The Outsiders and Mud. 'Gol darn you!' was mostly what I heard, with the occasional 'Dang!' and sometimes, under extreme duress, 'Dammit!' So, a possibly great story in STAND BY ME was demoted to just a good story because of the inaccuracy of the language and perversity. All in all, don't miss this one. River Phoenix was a young powerhouse. In fact, all of the boys were.

'Stand By Me' is a moving coming-of-age film, with brilliant directing by Rob Reiner and commendable acting from its young cast. This film may have it's few little flaws, but they are ultimately overlooked by the amount of heart in this movie. This film had me emotionally invested from the first scene and has resonated deeply within me. I have never watched a movie before that made me ponder so much about my own life and feel intense feelings of nostalgia. The simple, yet captivating story allows this film to focus on it's complex and relatable characters, which are all played superbly by the child actors. The two supporting characters out of the foursome, played by Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell, are not exactly likeable in the way you'd expect them to be, it's really the two main characters, played brilliantly by Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix, that are the highlight of the film and beautifully represent childhood friendships. When combined with Reiner's smart directing, striking cinematography by Thomas Del Ruth and the great selection of 50's music, you get a near-perfect and beautiful film about childhood, innocence, and death.

So much has been said already, but this is a movie that not only stands the test of time, but grows with you as you age. I was the same age as the characters when this came out and I thought it was a cool story about running away with your friends. As an adult I realized it wasn't just about the death of a child named ray Brower, it was about the death of childhood and innocence. Just like the train, you can dodge it and try to escape it for a while, but eventually, time and age will hit you like a train and knock you out of your keds. As an adult with kids, I now watch it and it hurts thinking about my own middle schoolers growing up. But the thing I never thought much about was Gordie's parents. They mourn Denny so much that they fail to recognize the great kid they still have. As much as I hate to see them grow away from me, I know I need to cherish these moments and be happy. I owe it to myself and then.