“The Goonies” Review
In “The Goonies,” the titular losers and rejects band together to save their homes in this edgy and beloved family film.
As a child, I wasn’t allowed to watch horror movies that much. While I did get to watch some non-R films like “Jaws,” I remember going to the video store and seeing awesome VHS covers for “Halloween,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th,” with my mom trying to steer me to something more age appropriate. As such, every Halloween, I had to find other films on TV or to rent that appealed to my longing for frights.
This resulted in me watching so many messed up films that were meant for children including “The Goonies” which remains a classic. While not a Halloween film per se, “The Goonies” has all of that autumn atmosphere with a strong sense of adventure, a fun ensemble cast and enough scary imagery to intrigue kids and adults alike.
Set in a 1980s coastal Oregon town, the film stars an ensemble cast of child stars as the titular Goonies whose homes are going to be foreclosed upon, leaving them to be separated forever. But when Goonie leader Mikey (Sean Astin) finds an old map of famed pirate One-Eyed Willie, he and his friends, smartass Mouth (Corey Feldman), goofball Chunk (Jeff Cohen) and tech wiz Data (Ke Huy Quan) run away to find the treasure. Along with Mikey’s older brother Brand (Josh Brolin), outgoing cheerleader Andi (Kerri Green) and the socially awkward Stef (Martha Plimpton), the Goonies must evade booby traps and the murderous Fratelli family to save their homes.
Produced by Steven Speilberg, “The Goonies” has that constant state of both peril and wonder that was in many of his films like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Poltergeist” and “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial.” With director Richard Donner, who helmed “Superman” and “The Omen,” “The Goonies” is a thrilling adventure with a ridiculous premise made real by the children’s commitment to the journey.
The film’s cast was filled with so many stars of the 1980s, many of whom are still big names today, and are a huge reason for the film’s success. The entire cast are the basic “boys club” tropes but they are played around with. Leader Mikey may be good at rousing up the Goonies, but he’s still vulnerable, especially with his asthma. Data does make cool gadgets, but they fail half the time. For every comment Mouth makes that is funny, there’s an annoying one that always irks his friends. Brand may be the cool one, but he’s still kind of a loser, having trouble with girls and having flunked his driver’s test.
While the Goonies are fun characters, my favorite people in the film are the Fratelliis. They may be murderous criminals who want to kill children, but they’re still a family. The gang of bank robbers consist of Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) who really believes in tough love, sons Francis and Jake (Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi) and abused/deformed son Sloth (John Matuszak) who is actually much nicer than his family. Together, their interactions make this film incredibly funny especially when they let their petty fights get in the way of finding the treasure.
Chunk (Left) and Sloth’s friendship is a fun part of “The Goonies” as both of these misfits end up saving the day.
The relationships between the cast make “The Goonies” feel realistic because these kids talk like real kids. They swear, they’re immature and they make plenty of adult jokes, but they also use their quirks to mask their desperation as they try to stay together by saving their homes. Sloth and Chunk become friends in the film, resulting in one of the most heartwarming elements of the film as well as some incredible make-up applied to John Matuszak.
There’s an adventurous feeling to this film that is reminiscent of 1930s film serials, which greatly influenced Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” films and George Lucas’ “Star Wars” trilogy. From the pirate ship to the booby traps, everything in the film feels tangible and fantastic at the same time. There’s a tightrope the film walks flawlessly between being awesome and scary. To put it plainly, it’s an 80s kids film. Only the 80s would permit a film to exist where the characters say words like “shit” and “damn,” dead bodies are shown and kids are constantly being threatened with death and, on top of that, get a PG rating. You know, when PG actually meant something.
The humor is edgy, inappropriate and awesome which makes it perfect for kids. This was a film that I loved because it felt like I was getting away with something while watching it even though it was actually a children's film. I think because it has so many threats plaguing the main characters, it’s both threatening as well as inviting.
While I don’t often talk about the sound of a film, mainly because it’s less obvious than visual imagery, I have to talk about the awesome sound design of “The Goonies.” From the sounds of fall weather to all of the sounds of the booby traps, this is a really fun film to listen to. All of these sound effects really make the film more realistic which helps me just get all the more invested. Dave Grusin’s music for the film is incredible and one of the most memorable scores of the decade.
The film is clearly a product of the 80s, including having a Cyndi Lauper song composed specifically for the film on the soundtrack, but “The Goonies” has remained timeless because it taps into every child’s fantasy of going on some crazy adventure. With plenty of skeletons, treasure and enough scary imagery for children, “The Goonies” is a perfect family film especially around Halloween.
