1. The movie I chose is the classic 1986 film
“Stand By Me” directed by Rob Reiner. Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie
outstanding reviews with a critic average of 91% and an audience average of
94%. The first review I looked at by Carrie Rickey, from the Philadelphia
Inquirer http://articles.philly.com/1986-08-22/entertainment/26065376_1_drill-sergeant-life-movie-chubby-kid,
praised the film for being a coming-of-age movie that was actually about a
boy’s life and struggles of growing up instead of being focused on extraterrestrials
and gadgets. The author goes on to summarize the movie using a tone that hints
that she enjoyed every minute of it. She seems to focus the review on the plot
of the movie and acknowledges the conflicts between the characters and the
conflicts that each character faces in their life. The movie is compared to
“The Breakfast Club” because of the self-realization in the movie but the
author says “it is finally a story about familiarity breeding not contempt but
friendship”.
In the second review I found on Rotten
Tomatoes http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-08-22/entertainment/8603030178_1_stand-film-boys,
by Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune, the author wasn’t as sold on the movie as
the first one. He says that the movie contains a good plot but is ruined by the
“show-biz phoniness”. The author focuses on the fact that the sarcasm of the
movie seems to be out of place and compares it to if Tom Hanks were cast in “To
Kill a Mockingbird”. He also says that some scenes are overdramatized and that
it is rare that 3 out of the 4 boys would break down in tears confessing their
family problems while being comforted by their friends.
2. The quote I agree with most is from the first
review I read. Rickey says, “Stand by Me is something of a pre-pubescent Diner
or a children's crusade through the Pacific Northwest and into adulthood.” This
film starts off with the boys playing cards in their tree house and cracking
jokes about each other and ends with all 4 of them entering junior high with a
newfound sense of what it means to be a man. Throughout their weekend long
journey they find out what is really important and are reminded of the
potential that they all have.
3. If I had never seen the film before I would be
more convinced by the second review that says it is over dramatic. I would be
more convinced by this one because it debates both the good and the bad of the
movie and it is more believable that a Hollywood movie made scenes overly sappy
and tried to use humor to engage the audience. I think this review was more
convincing because of the tone the author used and his focus on multiple
different aspects of the movie.
4.
If I were writing a one page review of “Stand By
Me”, I would include what made the movie work and what didn’t. I would analyze
the editing and the script of the movie and the acting/cast and how well they
pulled it off. I would also be sure to study the director and compare the works
of his other films to this one and see how they are similar or different. I would
try to leave out opinions and facts that would make my argument less convincing.
