5. Stand By Me (1986)
The film is narrated by Gordie, now an adult who just found out about the death of a boyhood friend. He recounts a summer adventure he had with his friends to find the body of a missing boy. Gordie's father is an absolute turd who preferred Gordie's older brother Denny. Denny died and Gordie really feels the ache of his big brother, who gave him attention and affection that is sorely missing in his life. Gordie spends his time with his misfit friends - Chris, who comes from a family of alcoholics, Teddy - who is eccentric and emotionally scarred after his deranged father held his ear to the stove and finally Vern - who is continually picked on for being overweight. Vern hears his older brother and his mate talking about finding the body of Ray Brower whilst dumping a stolen car. Brower vanished from the town and his disappearance provoked a wide search and media coverage. The four boys set off on a journey to find the body. Along the way, two of the boys are nearly run over by a train, they trade tales with each other and confess secrets. They get leeches in their underpants. The boys don't want to go on but Gordie tells them that they have come so far that they may as well finish the journey. Eventually there is victory. They find the missing body however a band of bad ass boys come along and threaten them. Gordie threatens them back with a gun Chris bought along on the journey. However, conscience kicks in and Gordie tells everyone that no one can claim the money - it will be reported anonymously to the police. And that's about that. Stand by Me is a very funny, and one of the best coming of age films. It had a nearly universal verdict of approval upon release and it was another Stephen King adaptation that received acknowledgement from the Academy and also The Golden Globes. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. This in large part due to the film having terrific young boy actors - Jerry O'Connell, River Phoenix, Kiefer Sutherland and Corey Feldman to name a few. Stephen King is particularly good at depicting that time period (late 1950s) and bringing it alive through the dialogue and characterisation. He particularly excelled at this in Stand By Me - and he made me nostalgic for a period I have never experienced. It was based on a novella called The Body which King wrote for his compilation, Different Seasons and brings you back to being 12 years old again - all of the fears and anxieties of that age and the wonderful friendships you had.