I'm watching The Sandlot. And it reminds me of a Stand By Me rip-off. Before you say I'm dead wrong, check this out:
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1. Middle age man narrates the greatest summer of his life. Of course, the narration (you know, old dude remembering) was also offered up on a weekly bases on The Wonder Years.
.2. Of course, there's a clubhouse.
.3. It's set in the 1950's. Though I'm not really buying that it's the 50's! The movie doesn't have that "feel." Sure, you can play some 50's music in the background, but check out those houses in the background. Doesn't look 50's to me!
.4. Fights between the losers and the cool-kids.
.5. A story in the middle of the movie told by one of the kids. Getting familiar yet?
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6. Total Barfo-Rama. In the Sandlot it's when they attend the carnival. Of course, that's totally different from the state fair where Lard-Ass where he creates total barfo-rama.
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7. A dog everyone is afraid of. Chomper v. The Beast. Of course, Cujo would have them both for dinner.
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What is missing here is King's natural story-telling .
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There is one laugh out loud scene in The Sandlot. When the kid jumps in the pool so the pretty lifeguard will save him, and give him mouth-to-mouth... classic! Nice.
Both movies also explain the moving on of most of the characters and focus on friendship between just two.
ReplyDeleteI think you summed it up. Sandlot is Stand By Me Light. It takes the surface qualities of stand by me but ignores the difficult issues that Stand By Me deals with so well.
both of you guys make good points. It does have that summer of mischievous adventure that Stephen King is known for. "It", "Dreamcatchers" are another two great examples.
DeleteBoth films bring nostalgia, but stand by me hits harder, especially when watched as a teen. The atmosphere and drawn out plot for stand by me cannot match the thrilling summer vibes of stand by me at least for me
ReplyDelete-I.M.