"The Octopus was very scary" *

The Goonies.


In 1985 two movies came out that rocked my world. One was the afore mentioned Back to the Future. The Goonies has the honor of being the other film.

Sure, it's not perfect. It has some terrible moments of acting, blue screen work, storytelling, and character development. Sure, it's unbelievable at the best of times. Sure, its ending is the great and sappy happy ending. But you know what? None of that matters, because these kids were just like me. They wanted to go on an adventure. The only difference was, they did it!

"Be sure to drink to drink your Ovaltine"

Here were these kids, not too much older than me, and they were looking for lost treasure. Each one of the kids had a wonderful character trait, Mikey, the leader, had asthma. Mouth talked too much. Data was an inventor who didn't have working inventions. Chunk, the heavy kid, was the butt of jokes. 


But these guys weren't alone. They brought along Mikey's older brother, Brand, who wanted to stop them, the cute high school cheerleader, Andy, who Brand liked, and her friend Steph, the semi-plain looking, but fun companion. 
Unfortunately, the Goonies, named for the place where they live, the Goondocks, houses were being bought out by a wealthy land owner (and let's be honest, is there any other type?) . Living their last days in their homes, the Goonies found a map, a map to the lost treasure of One-eyed Willie, a local pirate legend story. This set them on their new adventure, for better or for worse. 

Add to this mix, the Fratellis, a mother and two sons, a local  gang of thieves. Having just broken one of the brothers out of jail, they were hiding out in the one place that the kids needed to go, a restaurant. The two groups briefly met in a restaurant, if only long enough for each to be come aware of the other. The kids also learned of an "it" that lived in the basement of the restaurant, and then headed into the drains underneath to begin their quest. 


So did they get the glory and save the day? (Spoiler) Of course. It's a quintessential 80's movie. The good guys will always (well, mostly) triumph! And they did it with the help of the "It," Sloth, a deformed brother of the Fratellis, who was just as excited as the kids and who was also looking for adventure. In the end, the audience is left with that good and happy feeling.


So why is this movie still relevant to me after all this time? Well, it's basically because this is a movie for the kid in all of us. This movie had real kids, with real flaws, talking like the kids did, cursing and all. It was cool. It was like being in a secret club, one that was between The Goonies, and myself. 

"Another family photo ruined by a photo-bomber."

These guys were misfits, outcasts. They had a cause in their lives and it was to save their parents. They were perfect. And to this day, they still are. In some small way, they represent my childhood in all its glory.




So keep searching, Goonies! In our hearts, we are all part of the gang. So let's all grab our good friends, head out, and find that treasure! Goonies R Good Enough! And remember: "Goonies never say die!"


--MGS


 *This is, of course, a line of dialog spoken by one of the main characters regarding a scene that is not in the movie. I love it, as it proves that sometimes there is more film shot than we actually see.