In one of his usual tweets on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, Stephen King reposted a list of bleak coming-of-age films put together by a famous filmmaker while adding his own peculiar take. King’s contribution was the 1986 adventure drama Stand by Me, directed by Rob Reiner, a film that most would think is anything but bleak.
The original list was published by Scott Derrickson on X; the director behind The Black Phone (based on a story from Stephen King’s son) certainly knows bleak coming-of-age movies. Derrickson (who also directed Sinister) included a variety of masterpieces in his list, such as Elephant, Kids, Christiane F, Rumble Fish, and others. They’re certainly bleak, but when King reposted the list and added Stand By Me, Derrickson replied to his post, saying, “I don’t think of that film as bleak.”
Stand by Me is a coming-of-age drama film based on Stephen King’s story “The Body” included in the 1982 anthology, Different Seasons. Starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack, and Richard Dreyfuss, Stand by Me was critically acclaimed, with many calling it a perfect King adaptation. It earned a single Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay but was very successful at the box office. Today, the film holds a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and nostalgia seekers regard it as one of the best films of the 1980s.
Is Stephen King Right That Stand by Me Is Bleak?
Stand by Me follows four friends who embark on a unique adventure during Labor Day weekend in 1959. Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern decide to search for the missing body of a boy named Ray Brower, who has disappeared. As they enter the woods, they face challenges like violent bullies and leaches. However, the boys’ journey also turns into a beautiful moment between the four friends, whose bonding becomes an unbreakable force and marks their time together as unforgettable. It’s one of the all-time great “the summer that changed everything” movies.
For many (including Scott Derrickson, it seems), Stand by Me is a feel-good adventure with enough humor to make your day. It is morbid though, considering the whole film is about death and the burgeoning awareness of mortality, and the narrative framing is certainly sad. The film is told from Gordie’s perspective as he reads that Chris has tragically died after trying to break up a fight but getting fatally stabbed. So there are certainly reasons to consider it bleak, but it pales in comparison to films like the school-shooting drama Elephant or the harrowing and disturbing Kids.
Stephen King has always been vocal about Stand by Me. He has confirmed it successfully translated his work to the big screen and remains his favorite King adaptation alongside The Shawshank Redemption. In an interview with Rolling Stone, King was asked what his favorite film adaptation was, and he replied, “Probably Stand by Me. I thought it was true to the book, and because it had the emotional gradient of the story, it was moving.” He added:
“I think I scared the sh*t out of Rob Reiner. He showed it to me in the screening room at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I was out there for something else, and he said, ‘Can I come over and show you this movie?’ And you have to remember that the movie was made on a shoestring. It was supposed to be one of those things that opened in six theaters and then maybe disappeared. And instead it went viral. When the movie was over, I hugged him because I was moved to tears, because it was so autobiographical.”
Stand by Me
is available to stream on The Roku Channel and Pluto.
