The Goonies

I really love The Goonies. I don’t obsess over it like I do with Back To The Future and Home Alone, but I do enjoy the movie a lot. The story is about two brothers and their friends trying to save their house from greedy pigs who want to build a golf course in its place. The youngest brother, Mikey, finds a treasure map to a pirate ship and they all set out to find the buried treasure so they can save the house. They encounter some thugs and other exciting things while on their journey.

Main Characters

Mikey Walsh – he is the young leader of The Goonies and is played by Sean Astin. Sean won an award for this role.  He later went on to play Bob in Stranger Things.
Brandon Walsh – not Jason Priestley from Beverly Hills, 90210. Brandon is Mikey’s older brother and played by hunky Josh Brolin.
Chunk – my favorite character. He’s played by Jeff Cohen who is no longer chunky. In fact, he’s now kind of hunky.
Mouth – played by a young and adorable Corey Feldman who is no longer young or adorable.
Data – cute little Asian boy played by Ke Huy Quan who is always trying to invent things.
Sloth – played by the great Oakland Raider John Matuszak. I’ve been a Raider fan since birth and especially loved #72. I got to meet John at our mall and take pictures with him. He was a gentle giant. There’s a shot in the movie where Sloth is wearing an Oakland Raiders shirt. John died in 1989 at 38.

Trivia and Thoughts

• It was one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1985.
• The pirate ship was real and all ship shots were filmed inside the ship.
• The cast wasn’t allowed to see the pirate ship before the scene was shot.
• Data yells “Holy S-H-I-T” at one point. He spelled out “shit” because he promised his mom he wouldn’t swear. What a good little boy.
• Corey Haim auditioned for the part of Mouth which went to Corey Feldman. The two Corey’s didn’t know each other at the time but were best friends just a few years later.
• Mouth says “Godfather’s Pizza,” but mouths “Pizza Hut.” Pizza Hut refused to be mentioned in the movie, so the shot was overdubbed. Mmmm…..I want pizza.
• One of my favorite lines from the movie, and I remember this from 33 years ago when I first saw the movie, is when Chunk says “I smell ice cream”. So freakin’ funny.
• I always laugh when the girl has to play the bones (organ) in order to escape. She says something like “I can’t tell if it’s an A# or a Bb”! That’s like saying she didn’t know if it was 60 inches or five feet. An A# and Bb are the same exact notes. They’re “enharmonics” for you music dorks.

Things I Learned from the Goonies

• One-Eyed Willie was the first Goonie.
• Sloth loves Chunk.
• Sloth will break chains and have incredible strength….for a Baby Ruth.
• Mouth speaks fluent Spanish.
• Chunk ate his weight in pizza.
• Those aren’t candles.
• HEY YOU GUYEEEESSS.
• Chunk stole his uncle’s toupee.
• It’s booby traps, not booty traps.
• Always separate the drugs.

 

The Goonies is a classic and I always look forward to showing the movie to youngsters who have never seen it. There have been talks of a sequel. I wonder what that would be like if they used the original actors. I’d watch it. Sean Astin talked about it recently and he believes there will be a sequel. We shall see.

Thanks for reading! See you soon!