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The Goonies

The Goonies

By Patrick Samuel • July 3rd, 2013
Static Mass Rating: 4/5
THE GOONIES (MOVIE)
Warner Bros. Pictures

Original release: June 7th, 1985
Running time: 114 minutes

Director: Richard Donner
Writer: Chris Columbus

Cast: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green, Ke Huy Kwan, Martha Plimpton

The Goonies

Remembering back to my childhood, I was always hoping to find buried treasure somewhere, or at least a map that might tell me where the treasure’s buried. The holes I dug in our backyard – much to my father’s annoyance – never yielded my desired results and always empty-handed, I’d make my back to the house to further think where these darn pirates might’ve buried it.

So I carried on digging and though I came across items such as broken pottery, old watches and even piles of decades old rotting newspapers, gold, silver and sparkly coloured gems remained out of reach, but films like The Goonies, fuelled my imagination and watching the characters go about their hunt gave me hope that one day I’d eventually strike gold.

With a screenplay by Chris Columbus from a story by Steven Spielberg and directed by Richard Donner, The Goonies remains one of those movies that’s cherished by adults like me who saw them when they were growing up in the 80s. Playing into that sense of adventure that kids that age are filled with, its story is one that’s quite straightforward, but is peppered with lines and antics that are so cheeky and mischievous that it never fails to raise a smile whenever I watch it.

It’s centred on Mikey (Sean Astin), a kid who’s spending the last days in his family home before it’s torn down. Together with his friends, Mouth (Corey Feldman), Data (Ke Huy Quan) and Chunk (Jeff Cohen), they find an old newspaper clipping and a map in the attic which tells about One-Eyed Willie’s long forgotten treasure that lies buried somewhere in the area. Realising that if he were to find the treasure, he could save his home and everyone else’s, Mikey manages to convince his friends to join him on the treasure hunt.

The Goonies

They follow the map and head to the coast where they find an abandoned restaurant, but unfortunately for them it’s also being used a family of criminals, the Fratellis. This leads to Chunk being captured and interrogated in one of the film’s most memorable scenes where they demand he spills his guts and tells them everything, so he does! He tells them everything from cheating on his history exam in the 3rd grade to starting a mass puking session at the cinema. His information is no good though and they lock him up with Sloth (John Matuszak), the deformed Fratelli brother, while they go in search of the little treasure hunters.

Facing booby traps that were set by One-Eyed Willie and later on the Fratellis, Mikey and the rest of the Goonies have a tough challenge if they’re to find the treasure, but the kid never gives up hope because he knows what at stake – his family’s home. The GooniesWith the help of his big brother Brand (Josh Brolin) and a couple of older friends, they might just have what it takes to overcome all these obstacles and save everyone’s homes from the greedy Astoria Country Club who want to expand.

It’s really a film I never get tired of watching, whether its Data’s inventions going wrong, Chunk being unable to handle the pressure of interrogation, Mouth wisecracking or Mikey, as the one who holds the group together, always coming up with a plan to get them out of trouble, The Goonies shares the same qualities as other kids films from the 80s like Explorers (1985) and The Monster Squad (1987) that made danger feel exciting and that no adventure should be embarked on alone.

Perhaps that’s one reason why I’ve not yet found my treasure, either I didn’t want it badly enough, or I just didn’t have a group of friends like Mikey did to share the adventure with.

Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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