Has It Really Been 25 Years???

I can not believe that it has been 25 years since The Goonies hit theaters and changed 80's babies lives forever. The kids of the 80's had to be able to find someone to identify with in the diverse cast... whether it was the fat kid Chunk, the wise ass Mouth, the Asian kid Data, the jock Brand, the doofy kid Mikey, the cheerleader Andy, her ugly friend Stef... there was something for everybody. Toss in a mutant monster, a couple of gangsters, a dead body, some absentee parents, and a pirate ship... and well, the rest is history. Directed by the great Richard Donner, the story was written by then unknown Chris Columbus (Future director of Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) who got the idea from producer Steven Spielberg. While its hard to believe now, the movie was a financial bust even though it placed in the top 10 for 1985. But over the years the movie has attained a cult like status amongst children of the 80's, and we love this movie more then life itself. It has been chosen to represent us as a generation, and we pass it on to our children now. My son Mikey absolutely adores the flick, and its not like its a surprise why.

The cast of the film has gone on to have considerable success given the fact that the children were all relatively unknown. Mikey (Sean Astin) grew up to be Sam in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Mouth (Corey Feldman) starred in dozens of 80's mainstay movies like Lost Boys and License to Drive and continues to make movies today. Stef (Martha Plimpton) is still that quirky actress that she was 25 years ago and is now featured on HBO's How To Make It In America. But the biggest star of the cast has got to be Brand (Josh Brolin) who has grown up to be quite the critically acclaimed movie star in films like No Country For Old Men and W,  as well as this summers soon to be blockbuster Jonah Hex. It's awesome to see so many of these guys grow up and continue contributing to the acting profession. There has been much talk of a sequel over the years, but nothing has ever gotten done.

Now, on the 25th anniversary, tons of stuff is being planned in honor of one of the 80's greatest movies. A new Blu Ray version of the movie will be coming out soon that will come with a board game, still photos and a remastered version of the film. Also, this past weekend, the town of Astoria, Oregon (where the movie was shot) had a celebration that included dinner with the cast and touring the shooting locations. You can check out the site for that here. All in all, I can't believe its been 25 years. But thanks for the memories, and I assure you my grand kids will grow up to Cyndi Lauper jamming out and Sloth screaming "Hey.... U.... Guys!!!!" See you in another 25 years for the 50th anniversary.