In 1985, a writer named Gordie Lachance (Richard Dreyfuss) reads an article in the newspaper about his childhood friend, Chris Chambers. He flashes back to the age of 12, when he (Wil Wheaton), and Chris (River Phoenix), and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell) went looking for the body of a missing boy named Ray Brower on Labour Day weekend, 1959. This was four months after Gordie’s older brother Danny died in a car accident, deeply affecting his family.
Vern overhears his older brother Billy (Casey Siemaszko) talking about finding the body and becoming famous, and the boys decide to do it themselves. On their journey, they are caught by junkyard owner Milo Pressman (William Bronder) and his dog Chopper. Milo refers to Teddy’s mentally ill veteran father as a “loony” and Teddy tries to attack Milo, but the other boys hold him back. Chris encourages Gordie to become a writer despite his father’s disapproval.
They are almost hit by a train while crossing a trestle. In the evening, Goldie tells a story about David “Lard-ass” Hogan, a bullied obese boy. In reprisal for the bullying, he drinks castor oil and eats a raw egg before entering a pie-eating contest and throws up, making everyone else do the same.
Cris complains to Gordie about his family’s reputation. He admits to stealing school milk money and confessing to a teacher, who turns him in for punishment and keeps the money for himself. The next day they wade across a leech-infested swamp. Eventually, they find the body. Gordie is traumatized and cries about his father.
Town bully “Ace” Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) and his gang show up and claim the body. Ace draws a switchblade, and Gordie fires a warning shot from the pistol he stole from his father. Ace leaves, vowing revenge. The boys decide to report the body’s location to the police anonymously.
Back in the present day, Gordie is finishing a memoir of the experience. Vern and Teddie separated from the group. Vern married, had four children, and became a forklift operator. Terry was rejected by the army because of his hearing and eyesight. He worked odd jobs and served jail time. Chris became a lawyer and tried to stop a fight in a restaurant, was stabbed to death. Gordie says he never had friends like that ever again, but does anyone?
The film was directed by Carl Reiner based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. The title of the film was taken from the 1961 Ben E. King song. The film was nominated for an Oscar and two Golden Globes. It was an early film by Rob Reiner and a contrast to the usual film made of Stephen King’s work—only a nostalgic coming-of-age story.
It was almost cancelled by Columbia Pictures when it bought Embassy, but Norman Lear gave his own money to the production. The title was changed to Stand by Me from the Book-title The Body because the public would think it a sex-film, a body-building film, or just another Stephen King horror story. Its main assets were the young actors starring in it—Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell—one awkward and nerdy, one cool and smart, one hilarious, and one angry and in pain. I daresay this is every four friends in high school. It certainly describes my clique there.
Ron Reiner put them together for two weeks in isolation and they became friends. The song Stand by Me became a hit for the second time. The movie received 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stephen King thought it the best transformation of any of his books, except perhaps The Shawshank Redemption. It was nominated by the Oscars, the Director’s Guild, and the Golden Globes. There is a Stand By Me Day in Brownsville, Oregon every year.