I saw The Goonies in its entirety, for the first time, last night. That's right, until last night, this 24-year old film critic had never seen The Goonies the whole way through. I'd seen parts when the film played on TV, but had never seen the whole film, despite my affection for what I had seen. I was missing out, and for those of you who've yet to see this classic of 80's family film-making, you are too.
A group of kids, the titular ‘Goonies,' seek a hidden treasure to save their community, the ‘Goon Docks' (see the connection), while being pursued by a trio of familial criminals. Sounds like something out of the 80's, doesn't it? Until you see it, however, you have no idea how grounded in the 80s this film actually is. Josh Brolin wears shorts outside of his sweat pants; Cory Feldman wears a ‘Purple Rain' t-shirt throughout the film; and of course there is the famous Cyndi Lauper music video. From beginning to end, The Goonies reeks of 80's goodness, and barely a second goes by that the film doesn't carry the fun and lighthearted tone that was so typical of family films of the 80's.
The cast consists of a number of familiar faces, although most are much younger than we're used to seeing. Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, and Josh Brolin are all familiar faces to this day. Even the lesser know kids, like Jonathan Ke Quan (‘Short Round' in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), are still recognizable. The villains are no less familiar, as Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi are also instantly recognizable, as is Anne Ramsey, with her signature gruff voice. Honestly, she scared the hell out of me when I was little, no thanks to her role in Danny DeVito's Throw Momma from the Train.
The Goonies is the kind of film that isn't made these days. It's the kind of film that could have only come out of the 80's, and I mean that as an incredibly strong compliment. Lighthearted family films have never been as good as they were during that period. Many of the films released during this time carried such a fun atmosphere, and were an incredible pleasure to watch, and The Goonies may be the definitive example of this.
I have been deliberately vague throughout my review of The Goonies for two particular reasons. Firstly, the majority of readers of this review are probably already familiar with the film. Those who aren't don't need anything spoiled for their initial viewing. I watched the film while already being familiar with many of the elements, and can only imagine the experience of seeing this film for the first time, with my mind clear of any key aspects of the film. Secondly, I choose to use the film as an example of what was right with the films created during the wonderful decade that was the 80's. Many will argue my point, but the 80's was one of the strongest decades of filmmaking to date. Not because the films were of a particularly high caliber, but because they didn't take themselves too seriously. They favored fun over any sort of depth, and the films were all the better for it. Films since the mid to late 90's, have taken themselves far too seriously, and have forgotten what movies are supposed to be about – suspending our own disbelief, and having fun with the story, no matter how far fetched it may be. It seems as though every film nowadays tries too hard to be coherent and smarter than it has to be. They don't seem to realize that sometimes, we just want to have fun. Truffle Shuffle…
Scott
I don't feel any of the love that most people do for this film. I watched at the same time everyone else did, and it didn't resonate with me then, and it continues not to resonate with me today. Sure, it has that fun kind of 80's style to it, but to me... That's all it really has. That and a moderate amount of charm. I feel more fondness about a movie like "The Monster Squad" than I do this. I know I'm the only one, but that's just how things go I guess.