The Goonies, 1985

When I was growing up, there seemed to be a bit of an odd trend in movies where certain ones were compared to others, and where fans seemed to have leanings towards one over the other. Let me explain this better. For example, Steven Spielberg was working on two projects in the early 80's: E.T. and Poltergeist. I was never a fan of E.T., but loved Poltergeist. Some others that were naturally compared/competing were Labyrinth vs The Dark Crystal, Drop Dead Fred vs Little Monsters, and The Monster Squad vs The Goonies. Ah, see where I'm going with this now?

I never saw The Goonies when I was a kid. I always leaned more towards The Monster Squad, which is still one of my favorite movies today. The comparisons made sense though. Both featured a group of kids on their own sort of fantastical adventures that their parents were oblivious to (Mary Ellen Trainor played the mother in both movies, no less), both featured the token "fat kid" who behaved jarringly similarly, both featured adult actors playing the villains, both featured a strong disfigured character the children befriended (Sloth in The Goonies, and Frankenstein in The Monster Squad).

It was interesting watching The Goonies for the first time last night as an adult, especially being so familiar with The Monster Squad and being able to point out my own comparisons. In the end I discovered that their contrasts made a world of difference, and I had a better understanding as to why I was never drawn to The Goonies like I was to The Monster Squad when I was a kid. For starters, The Goonies is grounded in a pretty real world. The kids go on an adventure which, sure, is a bit unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility. As a kid, I never really got into movies about pirates, high adventure, or things of that nature. The Goonies almost put in mind of an Indiana Jones movie for kids (and no, not because "Short Round" was in it). The movie is predominantly adventure with aspects of fantasy and zero horror, which I think made the biggest difference to me. As a kid, I was always drawn to the horror genre, even more so than straight up fantasy. I also was drawn to movies where the villains were as appealing/interesting or more appealing/interesting than the heroes. The villains in The Goonies were sort of bumbling idiots and hard to take seriously as any sort of real threat. Now I know kids movies have to be careful about making the villains too scary for younger kids, but I still think they could've been done with less comedic effect. Though maybe that's what the director was going for, in which case it might just come down to personal preference. For me, I'd rather the heroes triumph despite overwhelming odds (*cough* The Monster Squad *cough*) even if it makes the storyline a bit less realistic.

Ignoring the comparisons to The Monster Squad, I actually came away from The Goonies enjoying it more than I thought I would. The cast was familiar (Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan) and great as usual. The story, though a little slow at times, did interest me, and I liked watching the kids figure out the various puzzles/booby traps in the film. My favorite character was Sloth, and I wished he had been featured more. I was always a sucker for the gentle giant type characters in films. As a kid, since I hadn't seen the movie, I would occasionally see pictures of Sloth, and he scared me (oddly, even more than the villainous monsters in The Monster Squad). I sort of wished I had seen the film when I was younger, just so I could've appreciated Sloth as the good character he was.

Although the movie wasn't entirely my cup of tea, either then or now, I can still see why other kids loved it so much and why it remains a classic to this day. I'm happy I finally took the time to watch it.

Three Fugitives (1989, Movie)

Three Fugitives is a comedy from 1989, starring Martin Short and Nick Nolte. Nick Nolte's character, Lucas, is a ex-bank robber who gets released from prison. On the day of his release, he finds himself in the middle of a hold-up by Martin Short's character, Ned Perry, and is taken hostage. The two of them spend the rest of the movie on the lam, along with Ned's young (and troubled) daughter, Meg.

This was a movie I loved as a kid. I was often drawn to movies that focused on father-daughter relationships, especially ones where a comedian plays the father. For some reason during the 1980's and even into the early 90's, single fathers and their daughter(s) seemed to be popular subject matter, not only in movies (Curly Sue, Three Men & A Baby), but in TV shows as well (Full House, Punky Brewster). For some reason, one father-one daughter didn't seem to be enough for the trend, and often times female characters found themselves with multiple father figures. I'm not sure how this trend started, but Three Fugitives seemed to follow suit. Lucas ends up helping Ned along the way, because Meg takes a shine to him, and he develops a soft spot for her. Even though Ned is a loving father and would do anything for Meg (like rob a bank), for some reason, Lucas becomes a surrogate father to her as well.

When I recently watched this movie again for the first time in years, I had to wonder what exactly made me love it as a kid. That's not to say I didn't like it, but it doesn't seem like a very kiddy movie either. It's touted as a comedy, and it starts off promising enough with the bank robbery scene, where Martin Short plays his normally goofy self. But the rest of the film wasn't very comedic, IMO, and I found this a little disappointing during my rewatch. I'm a huge fan of Martin Short, I think he's hilarious, and I don't think his talents were utilized very well here. I didn't like how he took a backseat to Nick Nolte's character, both as the leading character and even as the father to his own daughter in the film.

Towards the end (minor spoilers ahead!), it seemed as if the filmmakers were trying to return the movie to a comedy by featuring a plot point where Martin Short has to dress in drag so they can get out of the country undetected. This part was amusing, but became very over the top and almost forced. Also, as a kid, I can see why the shenanigans would seem funny, but as an adult it seemed kind of out of place. I feel like as a kid I probably saw the movie for its very literal parts (the action-adventure style, the almost slapstick comedy), but following the actual plot as an adult just didn't quite work for me in the same way.

Before I rewatched this, had someone asked me what I thought of it, I would've quickly responded with, "I always loved that movie!" But unfortunately this isn't one that has held up well over time. Too serious (almost downright sad at times) to make this a truly enjoyable comedy, and yet to slapstick-y to be enjoyed for its drama. A bit of a mixed bag, and definitely one where Nostalgia muddied my recollection.

On the plus side, the score is actually very beautiful and has a strong 80's feel to it. Probably the biggest highlight of the film.