The 520th film I have seen in theaters…
Superponte travels to the local Drive-In Theater to see one of his all time favorites on the big screen for the first time!
The Goon Docks, a low income area of Astoria Oregon, is about to be foreclosed upon by the local rich 80’s villains to be turned into a country club. The kids of the neighborhood, known as Goonies, discover a pirate map which leads to the treasure of local legend “One Eyed Willy”. Seeing this as their last chance to save their home, the kids venture into the caves beneath Astoria, all the while being pursued by the Fratellis, criminals who want the treasure for themselves!
Mikey, the leader of the Goonies, is played by Sean Astin. He did a pretty good job here. He had quite a few monologues which came off well. Astin went on to a great career in film, notably playing Rudy in “Rudy” as well as Sam in “The Lord of the Rings”.
He was inevitable… Josh Brolin pays Brand, Mikey’s older brother. I always liked this character. Brolin would go on to an outstanding career in film, ultimately playing Cable in Deadpool and MF’n Thanos in the Avengers.
Jeff Cohen steals the movie as Chunk. He plays up the chubbiness and turns in a great performance. Every line is gold, especially the interrogation scene with the Fratellis. hilarious! Cohen stopped acting and is now a lawyer.
Corey Feldman is Mouth, the wiseass of the group. His scenes as the spanish “translator” were some of the funniest in the film. Feldman would have several ups and downs in the decades to come, but made several classic films. He seems to be doing ok these days. I met him, and the late Corey Haim, many years back. He seemed a cool dude.
Jonathan Ke Quan plays Data, the “tech guy” of the Goonies. Armed with a series of malfunctioning gadgets, Data is a fun character. Quan is best known for this and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” for playing Short Round. It looks like he went on to be a stunt coordinator for a while, but made his acting return in 2019. Hopefully we’ll see more of him.
Martha Plimpton and Kerri Green play Stef and Andy, the girls! This was the 80’s, so the parts weren’t very “meaty” but Plimpton got some great lines.
Green would appear in a bunch of 80’s movies (“Summer Rental” being a particular fave of mine). She seems to have retired from performance in 2012.
Martha Plimpton, however, is unstoppable. Still performing today, she had a strong career on TV and film, and is quite a regarded theatrical performer. She is part of the Carradine acting family, Keith being her dad.
John Matuszak, former Football player, played Sloth, the deformed son of the Fratelli family. You’ve gotta love Sloth. He is a standout, few other characters in film can compare. Damn near every line is a meme from this guy. Matuszak died in 1989 from an accidental drug overdose. Very sad.
The Fratellis were played by three phenomenal actors.
Anne Ramsey plays Mama Fratelli, and she was perfectly cast. Gruff, and with tremendous comedic timing, she is a standout in this, and her many other films. She went on to earn an Oscar nomination for “Throw Mama from the train”. She sadly passed in 1988.
Robert Davi, one of my favorite actors, plays Jake Fratelli. He chews the scenery with his opera singing and is the most likeable of the villains. Davi would go on to a great career, even playing a Bond villain in “License to Kill”. He eventually became a singer and headlined in Vegas. He is also a conservative radio host, doing well for himself.
Joey Pants! I met Joe Pantoliano about a decade ago in Jersey, and let me tell you: this is one of the finest guys you’ll ever meet. He plays Francis Fratelli in this film and he shines. Pantoliano would go on to a truly fantastic career, a couple highlights being The Matrix and later The Sopranos. He has done extensive work in promoting metal health, being quite open about his personal struggles. As I said, this is an awesome man. I’m glad to have met him.
Rounding out our cast is Steve Antin as Troy, the rich asshole boyfriend. This guy oozed 80’s douchery. He got work throughout the 80’s, but things seemed to have petered out around 1998 for him. He was good here.
Not much more needs to be said here. It is one of the greatest 1980’s films and one that is still going strong 36+ years later. I’m happy to have seen it on the big screen.
The Skinny from the Fatty 