Happy 25th STAND BY ME

2011 marks the 25th anniversary of my favorite movie, Stand By Me. If people know me at all, they know that Stand By Me means a lot to me. A lot of people have favorite movies. For me, Stand By Me is more than just a movie I could watch over and over again. I have vivid memories of my history with this movie and what it means to me today.

I remember when I was about eleven or twelve, I would catch it on Fox Channel 29 on random Saturday afternoons. I thought it was funny, endearing, and full of heart. The boys in the movie were twelve going on thirteen, so I felt like I could really relate to them. They were outcasts at school and relied on each other to get through the rough times of their adolescent years. It was rated R, but since it was on regular TV I knew that they didn't show of any of the "bad stuff". I later convinced my step dad to let me buy it at Suncoast Video even though it was Rated R. I convinced him that it was only Rated R for bad language.



Rob Reiner directs based on a short story by Stephen King. Yes, that Stephen King. The year is 1959 and the town of Castle Rock is in search for the location of a missing boy named Ray Brower. While digging under his porch for his penny collection, Vern(Jerry O'Connell) over hears his brother telling a friend where the body might be. Vern think it would be fun if he tells his friends about the body so they can find it first. Vern runs to the tree house to find Chris (River Phoenix), Gordie (Wil Wheaton), and Teddy (Corey Feldman) playing cards. After Vern tells them about the body, they make a deal to set out and find the body and be heroes. They decide it's worth the trouble they'll get in from their parents.



Throughout the movie, the boys almost get run over by a train, get chased by a junkyard dog, get covered in leeches, and get into a fight with the older brothers. Throughout their funny adventure the movie also has it's serious tones as well. You see each boy's vulnerable sides as they deal with their own pressures of family and school expectations. Gordie is practically ignored by his family due to the death of his older brother. Chris is considered a rebel and bad influence as he stole some money from school. Teddy's dad almost burned his ear off. Vern is overweight and not the brightest kid in class. They only have each other for support and guidance when they don't know where to turn. There are two wonderful scenes between Chris and Gordie when they provide a shoulder to cry on over disappointments in their life.



Friendships have always had a huge impact on my life. I've had various friends come and go throughout life. We all go down various paths in life. Whenever I think of Stand By Me, I think of my friend Dillon. He's been my best friend since I was fourteen. We've been through quite a bit together, and he's still put up with my throughout these years.

BOSTON MOVIE

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I'll Take "Classic Movies that Start with A", Alex.

Answer: These are the two movies that Paul and Ryan watched on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Question: What are All About Eve and An Affair to Remember?

I don't think I've ever mentioned my love of Jeopardy on the blog before. I'm such a nerd, I even DVR Jeopardy in hopes I can watch it in my spare time. I was hoping to write an Oscars Final Predictions blog or even an Oscars Wrap-Up blog, but alas that didn't happen. By the time I got around to having the time to write them, it was too late. I already exhausted myself whining about how David Fincher didn't win Best Director or that The Social Network didn't win Best Picture. I apologize.

Ryan and I have been meaning to watching All About Eve for some time. I had never seen it before, and it's one of Ryan's favorites. We decided to do a double feature and add An Affair to Remember to the mix. Both are now available in awesome Blu-Ray with fun bells and whistles.

All About Eve

All About Eve opens at a theater awards ceremony. Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) wins the big award that evening. Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and others look on with dismay.










Cut to the past, Eve is a huge fan of Margo's. She sees every performance of her current play. On a rainy night, Eve decides to get the gumption to go to the stage door to meet her idol. The playwright's wife, Karen (Celeste Holm), notices her and brings her backstage to meet Margo after a performance. Margo's boyfriend, Bill, is the director. He is headed out to Hollywood so he can make a movie.

Margo invites Eve to live with her while Bill is away. Eve assists her backstage and idolizes her even more with each passing day. After Eve makes a late night birthday call to the boyfriend and prepares him a welcome home party, Margo starts to suspect something is up with Eve. Is Eve just an innocent girl who idolizes her favorite star or is there more to her than meets the eye?

Margo comes to the theater late one day to find out that Eve has become her understudy. Eve was stunning in the audition and read the lines just the way the playwright wrote them. Not only is Eve in her twenties, but Margo never misses a performance. Margo does not take this news lightly. After a planned incident occurs, Eve has to go on for Margo. Critics just "happened to show up" and give Eve glowing reviews. This is just one step in Eve's plan to become a star and overtake Margo.










All About Eve scored the most Oscar nominations of its time at 14 until Titanic tied it during the 1998 Oscars. Both Anne Baxter and Bette Davis were nominated for Best Actress but lost. This is also one of Marilyn Monroe's earliest movies. She has a few brief scenes as an up and coming actress.

Like I said before, I had never seen All About Eve before. I am glad to say I have finally watched this classic. It's good proof that old black-and-white movies are far better than most of the movies that come out these days. A witty screenplay gives the actors great moments and one-liners no matter if they are Bette Davis or any of the supporting actors.

An Affair to Remember

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr star in this classic romantic movie from 1957. Nickie (Grant) and Terry (Kerr) meet up on a ship. They are both in engaged but can't seem to stop running into each other and flirting. They are both socialists and have to keep their public image in check. They can't be seen in any scandalous situations. The longer their trip lasts, the longer their love grows.








On the morning they arrive back in New York, Nickie and Terry agree to meet up in six months at top of the Empire State Building. They leave the ship and are greeted by their significant others.













Will Nickie and Terry meet up on the Empire State Building? Will one of them go and get disappointed the other doesn't show? Will they ever meet up again? They make this promise to meet up exactly half way through the movie. I don't want to give away anything that happens in the second act. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr have wonderful chemistry together which makes you root for them throughout the movie.

An Affair to Remember has had a lasting impression on movie history. It's considered one of the most romantic movies of all time. It is actually a remake of 1939's Love Affair. It was remade again in 1994 with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening called Love Affair It gets mentioned quite frequently in another of my favorite romance movies, Sleepless in Seattle.

I miss romance movies where the couple actually has tons of chemistry. I typically pass on most "romanctic" movies these days as they usually have bad acting, terrible script, and no chemistry. There are exceptions, but most of them are pure stupidity.