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"STAND BY ME" (1986) (Will Wheaton, River Phoenix) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Moderate Extreme *Moderate Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Extreme Minor Minor Minor Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Moderate Heavy Heavy Mild QUICK TAKE: Drama: Four childhood friends embark on a journey in the late summer of 1959 to find a dead body. PLOT: A middle-aged author (RICHARD DREYFUSS) learns that a childhood friend was killed trying to break up a fight. The news brings back a flood of memories, most notably those late in the summer of 1959 in the small town of Castle Rock, Oregon. There, the aspiring writer, Gordie Lachance (WIL WHEATON), is one member of a quartet of friends. Following the untimely death of his older brother, Denny (JOHN CUSACK), Gordie has become the invisible kid at home due to his parents still being dazed in their grief. His best friend is Chris Chambers (RIVER PHOENIX), the most mature and compassionate of the four who's aware of his family's bad reputation and the fact that he'll probably never get out of the town. Then there's Teddy Duchamp (COREY FELDMAN), a somewhat off-kilter kid who's touchy about his mentally unstable father, and the chubby Vern Tessio (JERRY O'CONNELL) who overhears news that will change his and his friends lives forever. It seems that his older brother, Billy (CASEY SIEMASZKO) and another hoodlum, Charlie Hogan (GARY RILEY), know what happened to Roy Brower, a local kid who's been missing for a while. They've heard he was hit by a train some distance away and Vern dutifully reports this to his friends. Having never seen a dead body and looking for some late summer adventure, the friends agree to set off on foot for the long journey. Along the way, they discuss a wide variety of topics, from childhood nonsense to family matters and where they -- a bunch of unpopular kids -- fit into the world. As they get closer to finding the body, they must not only deal with the growing gravity of the situation, but also the fact that Billy and his buddies, including Chris' older brother, Eyeball (BRADLEY GREGG) and their leader, Ace Merrill (KIEFER SUTHERLAND), are also on their way to find the body and claim the discovery as theirs. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Although it's an older release, the fact that it's a film about boys trying to find a dead body might be enticing to young male viewers in the same age group. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R No official reason was offered by the MPAA, but we'd guess it was for profanity and brief sexual language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: WIL WHEATON plays a 12-year-old boy and aspiring writer who feels compelled to find the body of another kid, partly to deal with his own older brother's untimely death. He varies in his level of maturity, uses strong profanity and smokes once, all while being determined not to let Ace and his gang claim the body (going so far as to threaten him with a gun). RIVER PHOENIX plays his best friend, the most mature and compassionate one in the group who recognizes his abilities and familial reputation, and the limitations that both put on him. He smokes a few times and uses strong profanity. COREY FELDMAN plays their somewhat off-kilter friend who's touchy about his father's mental instability. He acts more childish than Gordie or Chris, smokes and uses strong profanity. JERRY O'CONNELL plays their other friend, a kid who's unsure of himself and their quest. He smokes once. RICHARD DREYFUSS plays Gordie as an adult who reminiscences about his and his friends' childhood. KIEFER SUTHERLAND plays the leader of a small gang of hoodlums who smokes, drinks, uses strong profanity and acts menacingly toward Chris and his friends. CASEY SIEMASZKO plays Vern's older brother who's part of Ace's gang and uses some strong profanity. GARY RILEY and BRADLEY GREGG play other hoodlums in Ace's gang. JOHN CUSACK plays Gordie's formerly popular but now deceased brother who we see in flashback. He's kind to his brother and tries to boost his ego and the way their parents view Gordie. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 11 "f" words, while other expletives and many colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue (covering a number of topics) is also present in several scenes. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while all sorts of potentially imitative behavior -- some of it being dangerous -- occurs. Some of that involves some scenes of potential peril that might be unsetting or suspenseful to some viewers, particularly younger ones, while a boy's dead (and slightly bloody) body is briefly seen and some boys end up with leeches on them (with slightly bloody results). A hoodlum threatens a younger kid with a switchblade, while the kid's friend then threatens the hood with a handgun. There's other physical contact, some of it playful and other bits more menacing in nature, along with some property damage, while there's talk of a person being stabbed to death. Thematic elements include kids trying to figure out and/or find their place in the world, as well as the aftermath of a brother's untimely death (that results in various tense family moments, while others are present regarding how children view their fathers). Crude humor includes an imagined tale of exaggerated projectile vomiting and some related dialogue. Various characters drink and/or smoke, including the four pre-teen boys with the latter behavior. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Chris states that his dad's been on a mean streak and has been drinking a lot lately. Chris says that his dad shoots beer cans while drunk. As Ace drives, his various hoodlums drink beer in the car. Vern talks of other kids going off for beers. Some of the hoodlums have beer. Ace drinks and drives. BLOOD/GORE When one of the kids states, "I don't shut up, I grow up. And when I look at you, I throw up." Another chimes in, "And then your mother goes around the corner and licks it up." We see one of the older hoodlums cutting the word "cobras" in another hoodlum's shoulder with a razor blade (just a tiny bit of resultant blood). After barely avoiding being hit by a train that "chased" them across a tall bridge, Vern acts like it was no big deal. In response, Gordie jokingly asks, "You won't mind if we check your jockeys for Hershey squirts, will you?" Later, Teddy makes a comment about another person, saying "I think I just turned my fruit of the looms into a fudge factory." Gordie makes up a story that he narrates to his friends about an obese boy. Everyone in the town calls him "lard ass" and other such disparaging names (such as "blimp," "wide-load" and repeatedly stating "boom-badda-boom" to represent his heavy walking). To get revenge in a pie eating contest, the boy downs an entire bottle of castor oil and a raw egg before competing. He then eats many pies (with only his mouth -- his hands are behind his back). We then hear loud and exaggerated intestinal distress sounds (and hear that the boy imagined "cow flops and rat guts" to make him feel sick), and then see the boy vomit (like a fire hose) on others. That prompts everyone else to vomit as well (some like a fire hose on others, some just small dribbles, etc.). The entire scene is played for exaggerated comedy and the term "barf-orama" is used. Chris and the others slowly start to wade through a swamp when they suddenly fall into the deep end and go underwater. When they get out, they realize they have leeches on their bodies and scramble to undress (down to their underwear) and pull the leeches off their bodies. As they do so, there's a little blood on their skin. Gordie then looks down the front of his underwear (we don't see his view), has a worried look on his face and then puts his hand down inside there, pulling out a bloody leech (blood's on his hand as well) that had been attached somewhere in his crotch area. He then faints from that sight. The boys come across the body of the dead boy. We first see just his clothed legs sticking out from some brush, and then a partial view of his entire body and then a longer head and shoulders shot where his eyes are open and there's dried blood on his face. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Chris tells the joke about knowing a Frenchman's been in your backyard when the garbage can is empty and the dog is pregnant. We hear that Teddy's dad is taken to fits of rage and hear that he held Teddy's ear to the stove (and we see his badly scarred scared ear now). We hear that Vern's older brother and his friend recently stole a car. The four boys agree to lie to their parents about sleeping over at the others' houses so that they can set off to find the body. Gordie's dad meanly asks Gordie why he can't have friends like Dennis had. Chris's brother calls him and his young friends "girls." Ace and his hoodlums -- who all have bad attitudes for their attitudes, actions and treatment of Chris and his friends -- drive down the road playing mailbox baseball where one bashes mailboxes with the bat in passing. Various characters use homosexual based disparaging remarks, such as "What's with you homos?" and "You little faggot." Others use ones related to the mentally challenged including "retarded," "retards," "your dad's a looney," "nut house" and "crazier than a sh*thouse rat." Chris and his friends ignore a no trespassing sign and enter a junkyard. After the owner chases after them (and is then separated by a fence), the two groups exchange disparaging remarks toward each other, including the man making fun of Teddy's dad being "crazy." We see a family flashback that shows that Gordie's father was only interested in Gordie's brother and not Gordie (although his brother tries to make Gordie look good). Gordie makes up a story that he narrates to his friends about an obese boy. Everyone in the town calls him "lard ass" and other such disparaging names (such as "blimp," "wide-load" and repeatedly stating "boom-badda-boom" to represent his heavy walking). Chris admits that he did steal some milk money in the past. FRIGHTENING SCENES The following may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers, but not so much to older ones. As a train approaches, Teddy stands in its path in a game of chicken (where he's going to jump at the last moment). His friends get nervous, with Chris finally grabbing and pulling Teddy off the tracks just in the nick of time. Returning to the junkyard in which they're trespassing and that has a legendary guard dog, Gordie discovers that the others are gone. The junkyard owner then spots Gordie, while Gordie spots his friends running away and scaling a fence. Gordie then takes off toward the fence, with sounds of the dog just behind him (he scales the fence just in time, only to see that the dog is just a regular mutt). The boys come across a very long train bridge that's a hundred feet above the river below it (we see one view through the ties to the river far below it). All but Teddy are tentative to go across it, but once he does, Chris joins him, followed by Gordie and Vern (with the latter crawling across the railroad ties). Gordie then spots the smoke from a train rounding the bend toward the bridge. Teddy and Chris, who are further down the tracks than their friends, run and make it off safely. Vern panics and cowers in fear, with Gordie making him get up and run. As the train closes in on them, the two run as fast as they can and jump off just in the nick of time as they get to the safe end (they tumble down an embankment, but are okay). While camping in the woods at night, the boys hear one and then many coyotes howling, frightening some of them (with Teddy stating it's the dead boy's ghost and Chris pulling his handgun). Chris and the others slowly start to wade through a swamp when they suddenly fall into the deep end and go underwater. When they get out, they realize they have leeches on their bodies and scramble to undress (down to their underwear) and pull the leeches off their bodies. As they do so, there's a little blood on their skin. Gordie then looks down the front of his underwear (we don't see his view), has a worried look on his face and then puts his hand down inside there, pulling out a bloody leech (blood's on his hand as well) that had been attached somewhere in his crotch area. He then faints from that sight. Ace drives on the wrong side of a two-lane road next to another carload of his hoodlums. When a truck approaches in his lane, he doesn't move, causing the truck to swerve at the last moment, spilling its load. The boys come across the body of the dead boy. We first see just his clothed, but shoeless legs sticking out from some brush, and then a partial view of his entire body and then a longer head and shoulders shot where his eyes are open and there's dried blood on his face. After the boys have found the boy's dead body, Ace and his hoodlums arrive on the scene and say they're taking the body and credit for finding it. When Chris won't budge, Ace pulls a switchblade and holds it to Chris's neck. We then hear a gunshot and see that Gordie has fired a warning shot into the air and his now aiming the gun at Ace. Ace cautiously thinks it's a bluff, but Gordie doesn't back down and then cocks the gun while still aiming it at Ace who then retreats with his hoodlums. GUNS/WEAPONS Handgun/Switchblade: Carried and/or used to threaten others. See "Violence" for details. We see that Chris has his dad's handgun and ammo. He tells Gordie that it's empty, but it accidentally goes off when Gordie plays with it. Chris says that his dad shoots beer cans while drunk. The boys take turn watching over their camp at night, with all holding Chris's handgun. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Big f*cking deal," "Shut the f*ck up," "F*ck writing," "Too f*cked up," "Get in the f*cking car," "Don't f*ck around," "What the f*ck do you know about this?" "Why don't you go home and f*ck your mother some more?" "You four-eyed pile of sh*t," "Sh*t-heap," "Who gives a sh*t?" "Sh*t yeah," "Oh sh*t," "He's crazier than a sh*thouse rat," "I'll rip your head off and sh*t down your neck," "Couldn't give a sh*t," "Fat old pile of sh*t," "Dogsh*t," "Sh*t for brains," "Bullsh*t," "Eat sh*t," "Beat the sh*t out of you," "That's p*ssy," "Bunch of p*ssies," "I guess I'm just a p*ssy," "Is it me, or are you the world's biggest p*ssy?" "Now you're turning p*ssy too," "King of the p*ssy," "You little tin weasel p*ckerwood's looney son," "You c*ck-knocker," "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood," "Piss up a rope," "This is so boss," "Screw you guys," "What are you pissing and moaning about?" "You idiot," "Stupid," "That's a plan and a half," "Verno," "Walkin,' Talkin' Jesus," "Hell no," "You wet-head," "Babe," "Girls" (what Chris's older brother calls Chris and his friends), "You're a real *sshole," "You bastard," "That sucks," "Did your mother have any kids that lived?" "Get the hell off the tracks," "You son of a bitch," "What's with you homos?" "Sick balls" (a dog command to bite testicles), "Just screwed the pooch," "Retarded," "Retards," "You morphrodite," "Shut up," "Kiss my ass," "Beat your ass," "Fat ass," "Your dad's a looney," "Nut house," "You little slimy bastard," "Beat the piss out of you," "Take a leak," "Pissing," "What, are you cracked?" "What, are you crazy?" "Candy asses," "Move your ass," "Too cool," "Go screw," "Screw you guys," "Lard-ass," "Wide-load," "Hey lard-ass, chow down, wide-load," "Barf-orama," "Sucks," "Bitch," "Douche-bags," "Jeez," "You're going to be stupid for the rest of your life," "You idiot," "You four-eyed psycho," "Sum-bitch," "You little son of a whore," "I think I just turned my fruit of the looms into a fudge factory," "Your ass is grass," "You little faggot," "You ain't got the sack to shoot a woodchuck" and "I'll see you -- Not if I see you first." Chris has a pack of cigarettes rolled up under his t-shirt sleeve at his shoulder. The four boys agree to lie to their parents about sleeping over at the others' houses so that they can set off to find the body. Chris grabs Vern around the neck and playfully rubs his head. The kids all willingly participate in cutting down the others with various disparaging, but playful remarks. Chris and Gordie walk along and playfully kick each other on the behind. The kids walk down some railroad tracks and later sit directly on them. Teddy playfully punches Vern twice in the arm for earlier flinching. As a train approaches, Teddy stands in its path in a game of chicken (where he's going to jump at the last moment). His friends get nervous, with Chris finally grabbing and pulling Teddy off the tracks just in the nick of time. To make peace, the kids say "skin it" and then slide their hands across each other twice. Ace and his hoodlums drive down the road playing mailbox baseball where one bashes mailboxes with the bat in passing. A comment is made that Chambers never misses "even when the ladies leave the seat down" and Chris then spits between his fingers held in a circle. The boys take turns trying to spit water into a can, with Teddy then purposefully spitting his on Vern's face. When one of the kids states, "I don't shut up, I grow up. And when I look at you, I throw up." Another chimes in, "And then your mother goes around the corner and licks it up." We see one of the older hoodlums cutting the word "cobras" in another hoodlum's shoulder with a razor blade (just a tiny bit of resultant blood). After barely avoiding being hit by a train that "chased" them across a tall bridge, Vern acts like it was no big deal. In response, Gordie jokingly asks, "You won't mind if we check your jockeys for Hershey squirts, will you?" Later, Teddy makes a comment about another person, saying "I think I just turned my fruit of the looms into a fudge factory." Gordie makes up a story that he narrates to his friends about an obese boy. Everyone in the town calls him "lard ass" and other such disparaging names (such as "blimp," "wide-load" and repeatedly stating "boom-badda-boom" to represent his heavy walking). To get revenge in a pie eating contest, the boy downs an entire bottle of castor oil and a raw egg before competing. He then eats many pies (with only his mouth -- his hands are behind his back). We then hear loud and exaggerated intestinal distress sounds (and hear that the boy imagined "cow flops and rat guts" to make him feel sick), and then see the boy vomit (like a fire hose) on others. That prompts everyone else to vomit as well (some like a fire hose on others, some just small dribbles, etc.). The entire scene is played for exaggerated comedy and the term "barf-orama" is used. One hoodlum gives "the finger" to another person. Ace drives on the wrong side of a two-lane road next to another carload of his hoodlums. When a truck approaches in his lane, he doesn't move, causing the truck to swerve at the last moment, spilling its load. Ace drinks and drives. JUMP SCENES A gun accidentally fires. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A little bit of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) The kids sing the theme song from "Have Gun, Will Travel." PROFANITY At least 11 "f" words (1 used sexually as is the term "laid"), 34 "s" words, 16 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 5 using male genitals ("c*ck," "d*ck," "p*cker" and "fat one"), 4 for breasts ("t*t(s)"), 42 asses (8 used with "hole"), 6 hells, 2 damns, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 7 uses of "G-damn," 5 of "Jesus," 4 each of "Jesus Christ" and "Oh my God," 3 of "God" and 1 use each of "Oh Christ," "Oh God" and "Oh Jesus." SEX/NUDITY Chris tells the joke about knowing a Frenchman's been in your backyard when the garbage can is empty and the dog is pregnant. Talking about the Mickey Mouse Club, Teddy states, "I think Annette's t*ts are getting bigger." The others agree, with Gordie stating the letters A & E are starting to bend around the side of her shirt (while holding his hands up to his chest like breasts). One of the older hoodlums complains that all the girl he likes will let him do is "feel her t*ts." Ace chimes in that Catholic girls are like that, and that if he wants to "get laid," the guy needs to get himself a Protestant girl and adds that Jews are good too. After Teddy states that he's relaxing with his thoughts, Gordie jokingly asks, "Do you use your left hand or right hand for that?" After Vern drops his partially cooked hamburger into the fire, one of the boys jokes, "Why don't you cook your d*ck?" with Chris adding that it would be a small meal. While camping in the woods at night, the boys hear one and then many coyotes howling, frightening some of them. That prompts Vern to promise that he won't look at any more dirty books if the sounds will stop. Chris and the others slowly start to wade through a swamp when they suddenly fall into the deep end and go underwater. When they get out, they realize they have leeches on their bodies and scramble to undress (down to their underwear) and pull the leeches off their bodies. As they do so, there's a little blood on their skin. Gordie then looks down the front of his underwear (we don't see his view), has a worried look on his face and then puts his hand down inside there, pulling out a bloody leech (blood's on his hand as well) that had been attached somewhere in his crotch area. He then faints from that sight. When Ace states he and his hoodlums are taking the dead boy's body and credit for finding it, Chris tells him, "Why don't you go home and f*ck your mother some more?" Moments later, Gordie tells Ace, "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood." Later, Chris jokingly asks Gordie who told him he had a "fat one" and Gordie jokingly replies that it's the biggest in four counties. SMOKING Chris and Teddy smoke at least twice, while Gordie, Vern, Ace, others in his gang and some miscellaneous people smoke at least once. Chris has a pack of cigarettes rolled up under his t-shirt sleeve at his shoulder. Chris says that he got some Winstons (cigarettes) and that a cigarette tastes better after dinner. As all four boys smoke after dinner, Vern states that there's nothing like a smoke after a meal. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Teddy's dad is taken to fits of rage and hear that he held Teddy's ear to the stove (and we see his badly scarred scared ear now). Chris states that his dad's been on a mean streak and has been drinking a lot lately. We hear voice-over narration that Gordie had become the invisible boy at his home that summer since his older brother, Dennis, had been killed four months ago in a jeep accident. We then see footage of his parents behaving as if in a daze, and see that they've left the dead boy's room just as it was when he was alive. The dad then meanly asks Gordie why he can't have friends like Dennis had. A store owner brings back a memory of Gordie's dead brother to Gordie. That store owner mentions that he lost his own brother in Korea. We see a family flashback that shows that Gordie's father was only interested in Gordie's brother and not Gordie (although his brother tries to make Gordie look good). When a man makes fun of Teddy's dad being "crazy," that greatly upsets the boy who cusses at the man but then cries over the matter. Teddy states that Gordie's made-up story about an obese boy getting revenge on those who make fun of him should have concluded with the kid going home and shooting his father (that shows how Teddy feels about his own dad). Gordie has a nightmare about his brother's funeral where we see the casket being lowered into the ground and his father saying it should have been him rather than his brother. Gordie later tells Chris that he didn't cry at the real funeral, but that he does miss his brother. After finding the boy's dead body, Gordie asks, "Why did you have to die?" but he's really addressing his own dead brother. He then says, "It should have been me," that he's no good, that his father said that to him, and that his father hates him (he cries over this). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Familial deaths. Growing up. All of the kids think they're different from others or are somehow misfits in one way or another. Dealing with bullies. Dead bodies. The kids walk down some railroad tracks and later sit directly on them. Various characters use homosexual based disparaging remarks, such as "What's with you homos?" and "You little faggot." Others use one related to the mentally challenged including "retarded," "retards," "your dad's a looney," "nut house" and "crazier than a sh*thouse rat." The fact that Chris doesn't think he's as smart as Gordie and knows that will affect their friendship in the future. Teddy states that Gordie's made-up story about an obese boy getting revenge on those who make fun of him should have concluded with the kid going home and shooting his father. Chris, aware that he and his family have a bad reputation, states that he wishes he could go someplace where nobody knows him (and then cries over that). Leeches. After finding the boy's dead body, Gordie asks, "Why did you have to die?" but he's really addressing his own dead brother. He then says, "It should have been me," that he's no good, that his father said that to him, and that his father hates him (he cries over this). The fact that the boys eventually didn't take credit for finding the body (but instead made an anonymous call to the police). VIOLENCE We hear that adult Chris was stabbed to death in a restaurant (not seen). After an older kid takes Gordie's hat (his dead brother's), Chris is mad, but Ace pins him to the sidewalk and holds a lit cigarette near his face to make his apologize. Teddy playfully punches Vern twice in the arm for earlier flinching. Ace and his hoodlums drive down the road playing mailbox baseball where one bashes mailboxes with the bat in passing. In a visually represented story that Gordie is telling his friends, an adult man purposefully trips an obese boy, with someone jokingly asking, "How was your trip?" Vern falls while running in a field. Although he was the one who flinched, Teddy punches Vern twice in the shoulder (reversing their rules). The boys playfully wrestle in some swamp water. Chris and Teddy push each other, and then Vern tackles Teddy and starts whaling on him. After the boys have found the boy's dead body, Ace and his hoodlums arrive on the scene and say they're taking the body and credit for finding it. When Chris won't budge, Ace pulls a switchblade and holds it to Chris's neck. We then hear a gunshot and see that Gordie has fired a warning shot into the air and his now aiming the gun at Ace. Ace cautiously thinks it's a bluff, but Gordie doesn't back down and then cocks the gun while still aiming it at Ace who then retreats with his hoodlums. We hear how adult Chris was killed (by being stabbed in the throat trying to break up a fight between two other men - not seen). Reviewed April 15, 2005 / Posted April 19, 2005