Reely Bernie Faves: The Goonies (1985)

With the crisp coolness of fall in the air, I figured it was time to dig out my Goonies CD. (Not the amazing soundtrack with Cyndi Lauper, mind you, but the Dave Grusin film score.) Without a doubt, the “Fratelli Chase” scene is the most inspiring, uplifting film motif of my life. (You have heard it in many television commercials, I’m sure.)

All my life, I have associated this disjunct, playful melody to the autumn season and a memory of me crossing the neighborhood creek with my best friend when we were kids. We would explore the places no one else would dare go, and this was the music that played in my head.

The Goonies celebrates 80s pop culture, embraces the energy and adventure of 13-year-old Oregonians, and captures the Spielbergian spirit of discovering the unknown. It was a babysitter standard and my coming-of-age companion.

Although Richard Donner directed this wonder, Steven Spielberg’s vision and screenplay are all over this thing. The dark side of the ‘burbs and the mysterious places it took guts to visit are concepts that influenced The Lost Boys (1987), The Sandlot (1993), Super 8 (2011), and Stranger Things.

One-eyed Willy’s lost treasure is the destination, sure, but the journey these seven adventurers pursue by pirate map is infectious, jumbled fun. Just follow Chunk’s truffle shuffle, Data’s “booty traps” (“THAT’S WHAT I SAID! BOOBY TRAPS!”), Sloth’s Rocky Road, and Mouth’s…well…mouth.

Speaking of mouth, like most movies rated in the 1980s, a “PG” rating was closer to child neglect (a la Airplane! and Poltergeist), and The Goonies could curse. From Chunk’s succinct “s-h-word” to the sexual torture innuendos to Anne Ramsey’s over-the-top vicious performance as Mama Fratelli (“Kids suck”/”Follow them size fives”), this little charmer is no PG movie.

Still, in the 5th grade, The Goonies took the shelter off of life and helped me grow up a bit. We loved Chunk’s foul behavior and the corny music puns:

Andy: I can’t tell… if it’s an “A-sharp” or a “B-flat.”

Mikey: Hey, if you hit the wrong note, we’ll all “be flat.”

Most memorable for me is the ominous, overcast terrain of Oregon. Visiting the “Goonie house” in Astoria is still on my bucket list. There’s something about the adventure, spooky atmosphere, and Dave Grusin’s score that puts me back in my ten-year-old, creek-soaked shoes.

I’m not sure why, but The Goonies (1985) is a multi-sensorial demonstration of nostalgia for me. It is a part of me. Goonies Never Say Die!

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)