The Goonies, Good Enough For Me

When fate allows it, I occasionally find myself watching a movie in the perfect moment. The lighting and weather are fitting and the mood is just right. Sunset during the summer always leaves memorable movie-watching experiences for me, but every now and then it happens on the rarest of occasions. Never was this truer than the last time I watched The Goonies (1985).
 

My copy of The Goonies (1985) starring
Sean Astin and Corey Feldman


It was probably some time in October of 2000. I was a sophomore in high school and playing football for the Oberlin Red Devils. For some odd reason, we had a Saturday morning JV game against the Norton Blue Jays on their field. It was a frigid day. Horrifically wet and muddy, just miserable. Our towns are fairly close to one another, so we were receiving the same type of weather.

When I arrived home it was sleeting, but strangely I still went up to our local A&W/gas station and bought a smoothie. I got back to the house and resided to the basement to watch some television. Right at that moment, The Goonies started playing on TBS. I had our large basement window shades open allowing the dreary weather to seep into my quarters. It was relaxing, and my setting seemed to inexplicably match that of the movie. This was hardly the first time I ever watched the The Goonies, but this time everything jived. And, here I am 13 years later still trying to recreate that moment.

Set in the “Goon Docks” neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, the adventure comedy follows a faction of pre-teens who attempt to save their homes from inevitable foreclosure. While exploring the attic, they discover an old Spanish map and artifact that sets them out on an exploit to excavate the hidden treasure of 17th-century pirate One-Eyed Willie. However, the coordinates take them to an abandoned seaside restaurant where they encounter a family of fugitives called the Fratellis. Escaping the villains through a cavern beneath, they trapse through a series of booby traps that subsequently lead them to a pirate ship full of gold.

 

 

The Goonies is an all around feel-good film, one created especially for dreamers—one that I would fantasize about, and put myself in the shoes of Mikey or Mouth. It embodies the culture of the 80s and is certainly one of the foremost teen and pre-teen films of the decade. It is packed full with unforgotten moments. The cast is incredible. Sean Astin and Corey Feldman are both iconic stars. And, the soundtrack includes some insatiable tunes, including Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” which I am felicitously listening to at this very instant. Fervent and impatient, I continue holding out for the day that my internal feelings collide with a frigid and perfectly relaxing Saturday when I can revisit this cherished movie.