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I knew I was going to like Stand By Me because of it being a Stephen King novel but I had absolutely no idea that I would love it as much as I did. Stand By Me is a really grand experiencing adventure for the four kids within the film. What I loved most about this film was that it showed how fun experiencing new things can really be and how also I love going camping and walking through forests and experiencing things in the outside world. 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. The film was just too amazing to describe. Personally, Stand By Me is a film/book of true friendship and what friends really are. This is probably the most different book from Stephen King because King has always done books of science fiction, horror and thrillers whereas this one is like a real drama. It does have a similar taste to The Treasure OF Sierra Madre to it apart from that they aren't there to find any gold but to try and find a possibly dead child. This film was pretty funny at times mostly with the "lardass" story. It was also rather tense especially with the gang. I have to say that this is a very predictable story and you can sort of tell what is going to happen but it is a story on great friendship and powerful bonds between characters. I don't know any other actor in this apart from obviously the late River Phoenix.
River was an actor with such great talent at such a young age. He's a bit like Heath Ledger. His death hit everybody just like Heath Ledger's death did. River was only 15 or 16 years old in Stand By Me as Chris Chambers with such a realistic helping hand towards his friends and is a very understanding person as well. He is like a real tough guy at least at the start of the film anyway and as their adventure carries on he becomes a bit softer. I liked the other three young boys who portrayed Chris's other companions. Will Wheaton as the sensitive lad Gordie, Corey Feldman as flamboyant Teddy and Jerry O'Connell as scaredy-cat Vern. They are all very brave kids especially because they are only in their mid teens and are going through the woods to try and find a dead child.
The directing was absolutely fantastic from Rob Reiner. He made it a real film for adults but regarding the teens relationships and how they behave around each other that is rather good for teenagers because it helps build relationships to a slightly higher and more personal level. I was reconsidering in calling this film a road film but I am unsure if Reiner didn't direct this film it wouldn't be. It is a film that only he could have directed.His directing was really awesome with that really clever, brand new standard of adventure drama films. The script was very good with a very original theme of murder mystery and of friendship.
I do love Stephen King's novels because he is my favourite novelist. My favourite King novel is The Green Mile but I do have The Shining, Shawshank Redemption, Misery and now Stand By Me as five-star Stephen King novels. This one is the least best of those ones but a bloody masterpiece! I think it's River Phoenix's best performance. R.I.P. River Phoenix. Stand By Me stands its rightful place on my favourite films list, on my top adventure films, one of my favourite road films and even one of my favourite films of the 1980s. Love it!!
9/10
