Rob Reiner’s 1986 drama Stand by Me is a definitive coming-of-age film; maybe the definitive coming-of-age film.
Based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body, Stand by Me follows four 12-year-old friends – Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Gordie’s best friend Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell) in the summer of 1959. The film actually begins in 1985, when a now-grown Gordie (Richard Dreyfuss) is reflecting on one of the most significant incidents of the young boys’ lives. Adult Gordie serves as the narrator, providing insight into events and characters throughout the movie.
Before we dive into the plot of Stand by Me, here’s a quick rundown of the group of pals:
The film largely centers on Gordie. He’s a smart kid and a talented writer, but he’s been all but ignored at home since the unexpected death of his older brother, Denny (John Cusack), that spring. Denny was the star quarterback at school and the Golden Child at home. He was also a loving and supportive older brother, and Gordie idolized him. After Denny died, Gordie’s parents in their grief all but acted like Gordie didn’t exist. The lack of attention and affection from his mom and dad, coupled with his own anguish over the loss of Denny, lead Gordie to be more dependent on his friends for support.
Chris is Gordie’s best friend and the leader of the group. The Chambers family has a bad reputation in their hometown of Castle Rock, Oregon, and despite being nothing like his older brother “Eyeball” Chambers and the rest of his family, he’s more or less resigned himself to the negative way that he’s perceived. Chris is supportive of Gordie’s gift for writing, and although they’re the same age, he’s more of a father figure to Gordie than his own dad is.
Teddy’s the “crazy one” who “didn’t have much of a chance in life,” as adult Gordie described him. Teddy was abused at home by his raging father, one time so viciously that it left his ear permanently scarred. And then there’s Vern, a sweet, meek, chubby kid. Vern’s the most innocent one in the group, and he’s often the butt of Teddy’s jokes.
Alright, back to the story. Another kid the boys’ age, Ray Brower, went missing three days earlier. Vern eavesdrops on his older brother Billy and his friend Charlie, who are part of a local gang of hoodlums led by the menacing Ace (Kiefer Sutherland) and also featuring Eyeball among its membership. Billy and Charlie talk about how they’d spotted Ray on a dead-end road outside of town shortly before he went missing, but since they saw him while driving a stolen car, they decide not to spill their guts to the cops – or Ace.
Meanwhile, Vern relays the info about Ray to Gordie, Chris, and Teddy, and the boys figure out that Ray had probably followed train tracks to a spot to pick blueberries when he got hit by the train and killed. They come up with excuses to tell their parents to buy time for the trip and set out to find the body in hopes of ending up as local heroes. Eventually, Ace and his gang also set out to find Ray.
For the boys, what starts out as a simple two-day trek becomes a defining experience in which they learn about themselves, each other, and life.
The soul of Stand by Me is in how Gordie and Chris lean on each other. Gordie confides in Chris his feelings of worthlessness brought on by his parents’ neglect and his loneliness in the wake of Denny’s passing. Chris, meanwhile, opens up to Gordie about his resentment at being unfairly judged just because of his last name, and how he feels trapped in Castle Rock.
In one of the film’s key scenes, Chris and Gordie sit by a tree and talk while Teddy and Vern are asleep. When Gordie suggests that Chris could take college courses with him one day, Chris dismisses the idea; not because he thinks he’s academically incapable, but because the bad reputation unfairly thrust upon him puts him at an inherent and insurmountable disadvantage relative to other kids. The boys discuss an incident in which Chris was accused of stealing milk money at school and was suspended for three days. Chris admits to swiping the cash, but he reveals that he tried to return it out of guilt, and the teacher he brought it to, Old Lady Simons, pocketed the money and showed up at school with a new skirt the next week, and Chris was still suspended.
Chris is tough and protective of his friends, especially Gordie, but he’s also very sensitive. Despite being forced to grow up fast, he’s still just a kid, and he’s extremely susceptible to being hurt and embittered by the adults in his life, especially those who are supposed to at least try to shelter him from experiencing such feelings. He breaks down in his conversation with Gordie, expressing his devastation at being betrayed by a teacher and how he wishes he could escape Castle Rock forever and start over. It’s a staggering gut-punch of a scene, and it’s impossible to feel anything but heartbroken for Chris.
What Phoenix achieves in Stand by Me is one of the most impressive and poignant things I’ve ever seen in a film. In another scene, Chris holds Teddy while he cries. For any other kid, doing this might come off as awkward, or even just flat-out not believable; but Phoenix’s portrayal of Chris’s kind and compassionate nature makes it look completely natural. Phoenix exudes tenderness and humanity beyond his years. It’s rare to see from a grown actor, but it’s simply profound coming from a kid. It’s immeasurably brilliant and moving.
Before that summer, it might’ve never occurred to Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern that they wouldn’t be in each other’s lives forever. Their worlds were so small, and their lives revolved around their friendships. How could something so foundational, so baked into who they were, ever change? How could someone you care so deeply about possibly be a stranger someday? After the journey to find Ray Brower, I think the boys started to ponder these questions for the first time.
Childhood carries with it an innate innocence. A kid sees the world as, largely, a good and pure place. The passage of time slowly lifts the veil, and ideas that were once simple – friendship, morality – are revealed to be not as black-and-white as they’d seemed before. And eventually, you’re forced to confront life’s heavier elements, like love and death. Although this process of aging and learning and growing is ongoing for everyone, it takes place over the course of years for most. But Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern are faced with many of these trials of discovery in just a couple of days. It’s easy to understand why their journey impacted them in a fundamental way.
“It happens sometimes,” adult Gordie remarks late in the film. “Friends come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant." It’s another one of life’s many hard truths, and it’s an especially painful one. Of course, there’s beauty and optimistic mystery in change and growth, but to experience them fully, they require us to leave some things behind. Sometimes, it’s people we care greatly about. But that doesn’t mean those friendships weren’t valuable; in fact, childhood friends might be our most important ones. What we internalize from the bonds we form as kids – honesty, trust, loyalty, respect, empathy – make up the foundation of all of our relationships.
At the end of the film, adult Gordie’s looking back on the Ray Brower saga, and he ultimately reaches the conclusion that he never again experienced friendships like the ones he had as a kid. On its face, it’s sort of a sad observation, but I don’t think Gordie meant to imply that the friendships he formed in the years after the summer of 1959 were any less meaningful or fulfilling. I believe he was coming to terms with how lucky he was to have people like Chris, Teddy, and Vern in his life at such a critical age, and he was acknowledging how thankful he was for the small moments with them. Such intimate bonds are few and far between, especially when you reach adulthood, and they should be cherished. I mean, I don’t have many deep conversations about whether or not Goofy is a dog these days. Jesus, does anyone?
Jalen’s columns, “Movies You Gotta See” and “The Free Play,” can be found online at www.medium.com/@jalenmaki.
Follow Jalen on Letterboxd at www.letterboxd.com/jalenmaki182/ to see what he’s been watching.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here