The Goonies

The Goonies (1985)
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi, Anne Ramsey
Memorable Line: "Down here, it's our time."

Some kids about to lose their home, a family of criminals, a monster, and a lost treasure -- the stuff that Saturday afternoon matinees we made of.

A group of misfits calling themselves the Goonies are about to be forced to move by a mercenary housing developer, when they come upon the chance to find a "mythical" treasure after they stumble upon a treasure map. It's their Holy Grail and although there's little chance of the finding the treasure -- left by no other than "One-Eyed Willie" -- they feel they have only once chance to save their homes. The big problem is that the path to the treasure leads to a house inhabited by a criminal gang of thieves and counterfeiters. The other problem being that they must get past all of "One-Eyed" Willie's bobby traps and then get out alive. Their biggest obstacle is believing in themselves enough to even try.

A huge hit for the kid demographic, this film seems schizophrenic in tone. At times, it seems to want to be a heart warming tale of this group of misfits and at other points it just devolves into sophomoric slapstick going for the lowest denominator laugh.

This is a Richard Donner film, but it was produced by Steven Spielberg from his original story and you can see his fingerprints all over it. At points, the directorial style borders on chaotic as it seems like the kids are ad-libbing dialog and actions. Now, for seasoned-pros like the cast of a Christopher Guest movie, this works, but these kids aren't always up to the task. With this being said, there's an undeniable energy and likability behind the movie. That's what saves this movie -- well, that and that it has a tremendous appeal to the 8-14 demographic.

The Goonies is a good Saturday afternoon movie to watch with your kids, but you will out grow it sooner, rather than later