Anyway, I watched it yesterday and loved it just as much as I did as a kid. The year it was released, they started a Saturday matinee program at the theater in Raleigh, and we got to go several weeks that summer. We had to go in a group (of kids from the neighborhood) and we didn't get to go every week because too few of us had money to, but I still saw Ghostbusters, Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Goonies at the theater that summer. I saw The Goonies and Ghostbusters twice.
My feelings on it, even as a kid, were mixed. It was a little sophisticated for my age group, even though it was squarely aimed at my age group, and I noticed in viewing it yesterday that a lot more cussing had been audioed-out. And who were these kids, anyway? They came across as these established characters, like we should already have known them, yet they had none of the usual trappings - no breakfast cereal, Saturday morning cartoon, no action figure line. But it has an undeniable elan which cuts through all of that and imparts a sense of wild-eyed fun and adventure to viewers of all ages. No, it's not a technically sound movie by any means, but it's a kids' movie, so... lighten up.
I think The Goonies captured a specific moment in time that can never be recaptured - it was our generation's Bad News Bears. Too much has changed, too much is known, and too much has happened since then for The Goonies to be as resonant today. In fact, The Goonies could never have happened any other way at any other time - a few years in either direction and we get Cloak & Dagger or Die Hard. Still, sequel rumors have persisted for years, and they have heated-up once again.
I absolutely love The Goonies, though I do see the flaws of the film as an adult. Still, a sequel could be done which brings that same feeling to a new generation, I just doubt too many in Hollywood would be willing to do it right. After all, there are too many major blockbusters with cutting-edge CGI action to be made. Still, one can hope.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
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I meant to add that I think the only way a sequel can be made is to include the parents - the kids, as adults. Further, neither the Internet nor cellphones necessarily have to be eliminated to make it work - actually, if it were done as a free marketing campaign, it could even play into the whole thing. It could be as much a part of its own time as the original was.
The best thing about that link is the picture of them today! I hate that Corey Feldman wasn't in it, but who needs all his shit, anyway?
Who am I kidding? You can't do The Goonies without Mouth!
The Goonies 2 is starting to look like it might really happen! The title is listed across movie insider websites with a 2012 release date. Many indicate it is likely to be a direct-to-DVD release. One (and the only one I found) has a partial cast list which includes Sean Astin, Martha Plimpton, Josh Brolin, and Corey Feldman - basically the entire Goonies crew (and all of those who eventually went on to have performance-based entertainment careers ["Chunk" became an entertainment lawyer])! Those with summaries say the story will feature the original Goonies as parents, possibly of a second-generation of Those Goobe... Goonies.
IMdB does not list Goonies 2 in its free catalog at the time of this writing.
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