Stand by Me

RIP Rob Reiner I was first introduced to Stand By Me in the height of Covid when I would scroll Netflix looking for a film to watch. This was around the time my dad put me onto all these 80s masterpieces, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, The Outsiders, and be honest I was absolutely hooked. So when I saw the preview for Stand By Me it was a no-brainer to turn this on. I will forever correlate this film to what made me appreciate cinema so much more. The humility and friendship that Rob Reiner conveyed onto my screen was mind boggling. I sat there, shell shocked from a seemingly simple plot and good acting, what was even so special about Stand By Me anyway?  In its 1 hour and 29 minute run time Stand By Me creates a portrait of pure friendship. It captures the bond that only exists in one’s childhood and how the memories and adventures one creates, can reverberate for a lifetime. The Campfire scene has stuck with me for about 5 years now, the sincerity and vulnerability of it is something that 10 year old me had never seen nor experienced before. The journey to me, itself is less about the destination and more about the shared experience, the laughter, the fear, and the unspoken understanding between friends. And by the end, Rob Reiner painted a bleak, beautiful representation of how friendships may fade, but the memories formed during those years remain etched into who we are as a person, forever.