Goonies

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Movie

The Goonies, 25th Anniversary Edition

The Plot

Greedy land developers are taking over the town and it's up to a bunch of misfit kids to save their homes—and keep the gang together.

Starring

Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green, Martha Pimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, John Matsuzak, and more.

The Review

The Goonies first aired in 1985 and instantly became a phenomenon and how could it not, it's a comedy-adventure film designed to captivate the hearts of tweens everywhere.

The story begins with a group of tweens (pre-teenagers) hanging around the house, saddened by the fact that developers have foreclosed on their homes and ultimately causing the break-up of their little gang. To change the mood, one of the kids dares the others to go into dad's "forbidden" attic where they uncover a treasure map and newspaper articles about the lost treasure of One-Eyed Willie.

Realizing that the treasure may be the only way they can save their town, their homes, and their gang, the kids leave home in search of the treasure. But things get tricky when they run into a group of bank robbers, known as the Fratellis, who've just murdered an FBI agent.

Now, they not only have to avoid One-Eyed Willie's traps as they hunt down the treasure, but they must avoid the Fratellis who are determined to capture the kids before they can tell the cops about their hideout, the murder, and their loot.

I have to admit that I never watched the film in its entirety until this week. I don't even recall watching it when it first came out, but I do remember the day my husband introduced the film to my daughter.

Being a huge Indiana Jones fan, my husband thought she would enjoy this classic 80s film and he was right! She loved the fact that the kids used their imagination and ingenuity to uncover the lost treasure and found the characters a real hoot.

In fact, The Goonies instantly became her Halloween flick of choice thanks to Sloth, the severely disfigured son of mama Fratelli, who reminds of her of a loveable monster.

But that's not the only reason she likes The Goonies. You see, The Goonies is about righting wrongs. It's about not letting the circumstances of life dictate how we live. It's about being willing to fight for what we believe in. It's about realizing what's most important in life—family and friends. And it's about seeing people for who they really are versus what they look like on the outside.

It's one of those films that you either love or hate—mostly due to the fact that there is a lot of cursing, by youngsters, in this film. Most parents will find the language highly objectionable; especially for young impressionable children. I, however, realize that our children hear cursing whether we want them to or not so instead of being overprotective about it I've chosen to express my views on the subject while allowing them to watch family shows such as this.

If you love action, adventure, and comedy—and don't mind a little cursing, then you'll get a kick out of The Goonies. It's a feel good film the entire family can watch.

The 25th anniversary edition comes with a blue-ray version of the film, a commentary by director Richard Donner, a documentary of the making of the film, a music video by Cyndi Lauper, deleted scenes, a board game, collectible storyboard prints, and two magazine reprints: one from 1985 with behind-the-scene stories and one from 2009 with cast updates.

Your Task

Put aside the chores, cancel the appointments, pick up a few Baby Ruth candy bars (you'll see why when you watch the film), order a Pizza or two, and cuddle up to a good children's film. Then pull out the board game and make your family night complete.