The Goonies **** (1985, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen) – Classic Movie Review 298

Written by Chris Columbus and based on an original story by executive producer Steven Spielberg, this spiffing 1985 entertainment is a ripping yarn and an extremely likeable comedy action adventure. It’s bursting at the seams with its infectious exuberant sense of fun and high spirits, capturing the zeitgeist of being young, carefree and feeling that nothing can get in the way, especially pesky adults.

The movie is fully laden with all the precious cargo that makes a great teen movie: adventurous kids, dark and dangerous underground caverns, a pirate map, lost treasure, villainous crooks, booby traps, skeletons, a monster and some magic. What more could you ask?

A gang of kids calling themselves The Goonies, a sort of American Secret Seven, find themselves enjoying an awfully big adventure after finding a pirate treasure map. The map in hand, they then set off frenziedly to find the loot and tackle the villains of the piece, who are those regular villains in American movies, a weirdo family of unscrupulous property developers. With the help a fine, quirky bunch of character actors, this film puts a fresh spin on these nasty characters. Though The Goonies’ focus is where it should be, really all on the kids.

Sean Astin (aged 14) and Josh Brolin (aged 17) star as brothers Mikey and Brandon Walsh, whose family is about to be forced out of their home because the developers plan to build a golf course on their neighbourhood. They’d need a fortune to buy off the developers, and that’s exactly what they find when Mikey stumbles upon a treasure map of the hidden fortune of the famous ‘One-Eyed’ Willy.

And so the duo eagerly set off on a quest with their Goonies buddies Lawrence ‘Chunk’ Cohen (Jeff Cohen), Clark ‘Mouth’ Devereaux (Corey Feldman), Andrea ‘Andy’ Carmichael  (Kerri Green), Stefanie ‘Stef’ Steinbrenner (Martha Plimpton) and Richard ‘Data’ Wang (Ke Huy Quan) to find the treasure.

Unfortunately though, the treasure is in a cave, whose entrance is under the house of the evil thief Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her sons Jake (Robert Davi), Francis (Joe Pantoliano), and the disfigured ‘Sloth’ (John Matuszak). But, luckily, Sloth decides to help the gang…

Director Richard Donner expertly sets about making this enormous fun family comedy adventure into a junior-league Indiana Jones movie, adding in plenty of high spirits and delivering it at a fast pace throughout. The teen performers are especially good value, with Astin and Feldman outstanding, though Ramsey, Davi, Pantoliano and Matuszak are excellent too.

Seven-year-olds to 70-year-olds will love it, though it might be a bit scary and sweary in places for youngsters.

Director Richard Donner has a cameo as a cop.

To get a PG certificate in the UK, the cinema version was cut by 16 seconds. The cuts were finally restored by the BBFC in 2004 in a 12-rated uncut version for DVD. Avoid the TV version that is further cut, blanded out to be supposed suitable afternoon viewing for small kids.

Who’d have though that 30 years later Brolin would be enjoying a major movie star career, eclipsing Astin and Feldman?

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 298

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com