TF Issue 189: Is It Just Me? The Goonies...

[Lizhawkins]

On page 153 of TF issue 189, Richard Watson asks:

"Is it just me... or is The Goonies not good enough?"



Here are a few excerpts:

Wrongly appraised as an ’80s classic by those still high on hairspray fumes, The Goonies can’t hold a Hasbro Glo Worm to Amblin stablemates E.T., Back To The Future and Gremlins, landing closer to Young Sherlock Holmes and Harry And The Hendersons. ‘The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough’? You’re having a laugh, Cyndi Lauper!

How can a quest for pirate booty be so dull? Actually, it’s quite easy if you bog down proceedings with cave-based snogging, Chunk’s friendship with grotesque Fratelli man-child Sloth and lame booby traps that play like the Children’s Film Foundation being handed the keys to the Indy franchise.

And yet, just as these insufferable brats refuse to let One-Eyed Willie rot in peace, so talk of animated and even musical Goonies spin-offs persist. Then, of course, there’s the spectre of a sequel, a proposition that probably excites Corey Feldman more than Josh Brolin, but which should appal everyone else bar Justin Lee Collins. Goonies never say die? More’s the pity. Or is it just me?

Check out the full article in Issue 189 - on sale 22 December 2011.

Agree? Disagree? Have your say below - a selection will be printed in the next issue...

[Jeffbiscuits]

Comparing it to Back To The Future and Gremlins is a waste of time. Gremlins is 80s kiddie horror. Back To The Future is 80s boys' own time travel fun. The Goonies, however is the greatest childhood adventure ever put to film. The plot and characterisation are entirely suited to the time and despite the fact that it has dated so much and is a blatant manifestation of everything that reminds me of the eighties, I still can't help but be drawn into the adventure any time I watch it. One of the very few films where you want to be right there with the protagonists from start to finish. I still imagine I'm in this film while going down a waterslide.

[howlingwoolf]

Yes, yes they are....

How dare you rant about such a beloved children's fantasy adventure film that defined a generation and their imaginations. Seeing a kid's dream up on screen, taking the audience along a fun-filled ride from start to finish, comedy, great 80s tunes, likeable characters, and a happy ending...what more could an 80s child ask for. It's film like this that inspired me to pursue a career in film and if I could make anything half as good as this fun film and create such a cult following I'd be a happy filmmaker.

My mum used to say, if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all...someone sounds like they had a deprived and dull childhood!

[FranJester]

The Goonies one of my favourite films of all time! I'm not even an 80s child, i was born in '92, but i love this movie! It is a classic and don't even start insulting Sloth! However, I do think it's a film you have to have watched from a young age as i know a couple of people who saw it for the first time well into their teens and didn't really like it. Although for me it's quite hard to top this film!

[Hush1977]

Who is this Richard Watson fella, and why is he trying his hardest to be controversial? You can find fault with any film if you really have nothing better to do, my dear Watson, but there's only a few movies that can be watched and enjoyed time and time again. The Goonies is one of those films. Next time you watch a film, do it with your eyes open. It's a whole different experience.

[kelseyjs]

I cannot believe what I am reading...admittedly I'm not an 80's child myself but I consider them my favourite films and the goonies being my ultimate favourite. The goonies was one of the first films to really get me interested in film and pursue it as a career. The goonies is one of the greatest forms of escapism. When I watch it I get to go on an adventure and be a kid again - although I guess I still am a kid. To me this film will always be a classic and for anybody else to say otherwise is simply mad.

[dojj singh]

It's a cult film and, as with all cult films, you know they are just a little bit crap, but some peeps will try and elevate them way beyond their station.

I didn't particularly like Ferris, or his day off, or that one with Kelly LeBrock and her dress, to name but a few, but that to real life folk in a room is like going to a pub in Manchester and wearing the wrong colours.

And, I mean, other than the kid from Indian Jones, who else got famous out of it?

[Hush1977]

Er, thanks for the input, Mr. Singh, but can we have that Watson fella back?

[ubcool]

wow this is a shocker, a middle aged man doesnt find a 80s kids movie as good as he remembers.

[simcourtie]

Brilliant! It's not just me, then. It's me and Richard Watson. I'm stunned by the reply string. People genuinely love The Goonies, yet it's patently awful. Just because it's found itself nestled on the 'cult 80s' shelf, doesn't excuse it. And I'm sorry Dojj Singh, but making reckless comparisons that put Ferris Bueller and Weird Science in the same category is as misplaced as Spielberg and Columbus's belief that Data's (ahem) 'gadgets' were cool ... even in 1985. Weird Science may (loosely) be labelled an 80s cult classic - although it's a mighty stretch in my opinion - but it's got none of the wit of Ferris. Just 'cause they're both written by John Hughes doesn't make them anything like each other, and if anything proves that even John Hughes had his off days. Mind you, John Hughes on an off day is still a country mile ahead of Spielberg 'phoning in' his efforts on Goonies.
Watson's comparison with The Children's Film Foundation is bang on. In fact, the inclusion of Keith Chegwin could only have improved the plodding, clunking mess that it is. Wake up and smell it, people. This film stinks worse than Chegwin's later career. (And that includes Naked Jungle.)