The Stephen King Blogathon

Original Post here: 

I’d like to thank Movierob and Darren of Movie Reviews 101 for letting me take part in their huge blogathon this month, aptly named ‘The October King-a-thon’. When they posted the 62 movies available to choose from, I was ashamed that I could count the number of Stephen King movies I’d seen on just one hand. I’ll just hand in my blogger badge now, right?

Anyway, I knew this was a great chance to get involved and tick another ‘must watch’ off my list, so I chose my movie based on two factors:

It’s in IMDB’s Top 250 list, and conquering that list is a not so little mission of mine

One of the main cast is played by my favourite geek when he was barely a teenager, Wil Wheaton!

So, the other night, I snuggled up on the sofa and watched Stand By Me (1986). Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Body, the story is told through the writings of a grown up Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton). After a close friend of his died, he decided it was time to recount the journey he and his friends Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman) and Vern (Jerry O’Connell) went on to find the body of a missing boy, reportedly found just off the railway tracks.

My first thought was how much I wished I had seen this when I was younger, although I think I can be forgiven as Stand By Me was released 3 years before I was actually born. It’s the perfect film to watch in that transitional period between schools, when even though times were much simpler, the fact of moving on and potentially leaving friends behind is the worst feeling in the world. You know, maybe I should scrap that, I’ve just realised this was rated R! What does that equate to in UK ratings?

Moving swiftly on, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I was surprised at how well acted it was from such a young cast. I read that in the scene on the bridge, the director, Rob Reiner thought a couple of the boys didn’t look scared enough so he shouted at them till they cried and then re-took the take! So hats off to him for that one.

There’s one scene that will stick out in my mind for years to come, and I hold it in the same regards to the Bruce Bogtrotter scene in Matilda. I’m talking about Gordie’s story when they gang had set up camp for the night, about Lardass Hogan and the pie eating contest. It was gross enough and then I found out that the vomit was made from ‘cottage cheese and blueberries’, and my stomach hasn’t felt the same ever since.

All in all, I would rate Stand By Me as a film that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime, it’s such a beautiful story.