Stand By Me - A Classic of 25 Years!

in 1986, Rob Reiner directed a movie that was written by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans, based upon the novella The Body written by Stephen King. King wrote the story about four friends, all struggling with rough family lives, in a small town of Castle Rock who go on a search for a missing boy of the same age who was missing. The novella became a screenplay and the screenplay became a movie, which in turn became an instant classic about friendship.

Stand By Me is about the story of friendship. The movie opens up with The Writer (Richard Dreyfuss) who is sitting along in his truck, down about the news of his childhood friend being murdered. He then writes about one adventure he and his friends shared, one they will remember forever.

Wil Wheaton portayed Gordie Lachance. Gordie is a quiet kid with a gift for creating stories. As we learn about Gordie, we learn that he lives a very sad life when he is not around his friends. The one person who Gordie cherished, who also cherished Gordie, was his older brother Denny (John Cusack) who died in a car accident leaving Gordie alone with two parents who seem to be unable to cope with the loss of their son, and unfortunately act as if Gordie never existed. The four people Gordie can turn to are his friends. He often feels overwhelmed that he is smart, and is afraid of losing touch with his friends when they enter high school as he will be in more advanced classes than his buddies. The one thing he holds onto for Chris is hope, hope that Chris can use his smarts, tear himself away from his family, and become something better, that Gordie knows lives inside of Chris.

River Phoenix portrayed Chris Chambers. Chris lives a tough life being the younger brother of of Eyeball (Bradley Gregg), who hangs around with the town thugs. Chris never is given a chance in life because he is Eyeball's kid brother, so everyone, and sometimes including Chris, seem to not expect much from him. But the one thing Chris has is a love for his friends. He has a big heart and he looks out for Gordie, especially, on several different occasions, trying to make sure Gordie's gift for writing is not ever wasted. He knows how messed up Gordie is by not only the death of Denny, but how his parents have treated Gordie after the death of Denny. He is Gordie's best friend, and vice versa, and some strong advice from Gordie could lead to a bright future if Chris has the strength to pull through.

Corey Feldman portrayed Teddy Duchamp. In what could be Corey's most memorable performance as an actor, Teddy is a very trouble kid. His father was in the war, and several times is told by Teddy that he had stormed the beach at Normandy. The problem with all that is his father is physically abusive to Teddy, nearly burning his ear off on a stove, leaving Teddy with a disfigured ear and loss of hearing in that ear. No matter what he has done to Teddy, Teddy still sticks up for his father, believing him to be a hero and not a looney, as hes referred to by Milo Pressman (WIlliam Bonder). Teddy is an adventure seeker, and manages to several times come across as a loose cannon himself, including one time when he tries to dodge a moving train only to be pulled off the tracks at the last minute by Chris.

Jerry O' Connell is a scene stealer as he portrayed chubby Vern Tessio. Like Chris, Vern has an older brother who also hangs out with the town thugs. It is from his brother that Vern finds out where the body of Ray Brower (Kent Lutrell) is and how the young man died. The issue with Vern is he's a scardey cat. He is afraid of everything and everyone and often allows people to pick on him, including Teddy, who takes every chance he has to make Vern flinch so that he can give him "two for flinching." He's a kind kid who cares about his friends, but also allows his fears to make decisions for him.

Kiefer Sutherland portrayed Ace Merrill. Ace is the leader of the local gang. He is bad news for himself and anyone who comes around him. He has no respect and always seems to get his way, mainly because people fear him. He tends to pick on the boys, including one instance where he takes Gordie's New York Yankees hat the was given to him by Denny to be worn for good luck. Taking the hat shows that Ace doesn't have any respect or care about anyone but himself. He forces his friends to go find the body of Ray Brower when they are unable to keep it a secret no longer, and has every intention on bringing it back, including killing Chris when Chris disrespects him.

On a hot summer day, not too long before they begin high school, Gordie, Chris and Teddy are playing cards in their treehouse when Vern rushes up. Vern is out of breath from running from his house. He has big news. He asks his friends if they want to go see a dead body.

The friends remain quiet as Vern tells them how he overheard his brother telling a friend that Ray Brower, a kid their age, went out to pick Blueberries and never returned, Apparently, Ray was hit by a train and killed, and Vern overheard where his body was. Believing they would become heroes in their own eyes as well as the eyes of the town, the four friends decide to go out to find the body and claim a reward.

As they make their travels to the Royal River, the known place of Ray Browers body, they encounter some difficult situations and discover a strength of friendship none of them knew that had. They learn how to stick together no matter how tough the situation gets and to never back down to their fears.

25 years later, Stand By Me is a very much recognized movie. It is a movie about friendship, death, fear and love. Its a story about never giving up no matter how badly the odds are against you. From the emotional scene where Gordie thinks about when his brother Denny gives him his lucky Yankees cap, to their lesson between fact and fiction with Milo Pressman's dog Chopper, to being chased by a moving train on tracks that are 100 feet above the water, to Gordie telling his friends a campside story about a fat kid Lard Ass (Andy Lindberg) who purposely causes himself to vomit during a pie eating contest to get revenge on the town that makes fun of him, all the way to defending their honor against the town hoodlums who plan on taking the body from them, you will love every single moment of Stand By Me. No other movie will ever be made that will show the true power of friendship.

Stand By Me Special Edition 25 Year Anniversary now available on Blu Ray and DVD.