The Goonies

The Goonies (1985)

Director: Richard Donner

Cast: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Kwan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey

Writers: Chris Columbus (screenplay), Steven Spielberg (story)

Synopsis: 

Mikey Walsh (Astin) stumbles upon an old map leading to the treasure of the famous pirate One Eyed Willy. With his brother, Brandon (Brolin) and their friends Chunk (Cohen), Data (Kwan), Mouth (Feldman), Andy (Green) and Stef (Plimpton), Mikey sets out to find the lost treasure in the hopes of saving his family's home, which is about to be foreclosed on. Along the way, they run afoul of the Fratelli's, a family of criminals who just executed a daring daylight escape from the country jail. Ma Fratelli (Ramsey) finds out about the treasure and will stop at nothing to find it, even if it means going through the kids to get it. 

First Impressions: 

There are some movies that leave an indelible impression on a person, particularly in their youth. For me, this was one of those movies. I can't say for certain whether I saw this in the theaters (it was 35 years ago, after all) or whether my first viewing was on home video. However I first experienced it, I know for sure that The Goonies left a mark on me. I always had trouble fitting in when I was younger and I could always relate to Mikey and his friends, all of whom were outcasts, like me. Among my group of friends, we often set out looking for our own lost treasures (although there were very few pirates known to inhabit Southern Alberta at the time). Suffice to say I loved this movie growing up and I've seen it several times since then. However, it's been a few years since my last viewing, so let's see how it fares under a more critical eye. 

Story/Direction:

"Home? What home? In a couple more hours, it ain't gonna be home anymore. Come on, guys, this is our time. Our last chance to see if there really is any rich stuff. We've got to."

First and foremost, this is a movie directed at kids. As a result, it doesn't necessarily have the most complex story or plot. That being said, simple stories don't necessarily equate to bad ones, in fact, the simplicity in its story is a strong point of the film. Basically, it's a run of the mill story about the search for pirate treasure but updated for a modern (at the time) audience. This is what attracted me most to the movies as kid. It was just a group of kids around my age that went off on an amazing adventure, without their parents. Tell me, what 10 year old wouldn't love that?

Though the hunt for One Eyed Willy's treasure is what appealed to me the most as a kid, as an adult, I found the broader theme of Mikey's quest to save his home even more engrossing. Mikey and company set out to find the treasure to help prevent a group of investors from foreclosing on their home, forcing the group to move away from each other. In essence the movie is really about on kid's fight against change. This aspect of the film's story really spoke to me on this viewing, mostly because I could relate to Mikey's struggle, although I wasn't as successful in stopping the change as he was. Growing up, my family moved around a lot, which was difficult on me because I didn't make friends very easily. While my parents' reason for moving weren't as dramatic as those portrayed in the movie, I always wished there was something I could do to prevent the move from happening. What I wouldn't have given for a metaphorical pirate treasure of my own. So I I guess what I'm really saying is that despite the outward simplicity in this movie's story there is a depth there after all, if you know where to look for it.

Before I move on from this section, i want to give praise to the skillful direction of Richard Donner. Like another film of his that I reviewed, Ladyhawke, this movie doesn't get bogged down by spouting out a lot of exposition. Donner just gives the audience what they need to know to understand what's going on and trusts them to piece everything else together. In the case of The Goonies, this is especially notable because the film was intended primarily for children. 

Acting:

Anytime you have a movie whose cast is primarily kids, the acting on display can often be uneven. However, The Goonies manages to avoid this pitfall as there really wasn't a weak link in the cast. First of all, I'd like to highlight Corey Feldman as Mouth. I think because of how his life and career turned out, people often forget that Feldman was actually a pretty talented actor back in the day. For the most part, he plays Mouth as the wise-ass kid that always has something smart to say. However, there's a scene where the kids are trapped at the bottom of a wishing well, where Mouth gives a pretty moving speech that really showed some great range from Feldman. 

Other acting highlights include all three Fratellis played by Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi and the late, great Anne Ramsey. Joey Pants has basically made a career out of playing skeevey Italian criminal types in more serious movies. In The Goonies he plays a similar role but played more for laughs. Francis Fratelli is clearly not a good person but Pantoliano plays him with such an ineptness that you can't help but feel a little sorry for him. Like his onscreen brother, Davi also plays a bit of a buffoon, which I always find amusing because I'm used to him in more serious roles. Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fantastic Anne Ramsey. While Ma Fratelli wasn't as great of a part as Mrs. Lyft from Throw Momma From the Train, Ramsey still showcases her ability to be absolutely terrifying.

Visuals:

There's not a ton of special effects in this movie but the practical effects are great and they still hold up today. The make-up effects are particularly impressive in that they transform former NFLer John Matuszak into the deformed giant, Sloth. Not only was the make-up on Sloth excellent, but the fact that it required several different men to operate his facial features through remote control is especially impressive. For my money, even 35 years later, it still looks better than most CGI jobs we'd see nowadays.  The production design in this movie is also top-notch, particularly the fantastic pirate ship built specifically for the movie. Finally, the backdrop of Astoria, Oregon is also about as beautiful a place as God has placed on this earth. No wonder it was used as the setting for many other movies during that era. 

Score/Music:

The music for this movie, composed by Dave Grusin, is pretty great. The theme for film is one of the more iconic pieces of movie music to come out of the 80s, in my opinion. Of course it also passes my single criteria for judging whether a movie's music is good, I did find myself absently humming it after watching. The film's music also includes some songs from popular music of the time, most notably Cyndi Lauper's Goonies 'r' Good Enough, which is pretty iconic in its own right. 

Action

The action for this film is pretty good overall. There are a number of chase sequences, including a pretty fun one to open the movie with. There's also some pretty tense scenes with the kids trying to doge numerous booty (ahem, booby) traps set by the devious One Eyed Willy. My personal favorite action scenes (if you can call them that) is when Data tries out his various inventions, usually to amusing results.

Final Verdict

This was one of my favorite movies growing up and it remains very near and dear to me. It definitely remains a must see movie for me and I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't seen it.