There are probably thousands of family films I can choose from to initiate my NKIT series and today many among them are regarded as classics. I chose one that immediately popped to my mind: The Goonies, a movie best remembered for the tagline "never say die". And true to this tagline, this movie never really died from our memory.
The film follows 4 kids who tried to save their neighborhood from a foreclosure by going on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willie, a legendary 17th-century pirate. Along the way they were joined by three slightly older teenage companions. Together they had a run-and-chase with the baddies, a mother-and-sons team that planned to find the same treasure as well. Of course, being a family film as it is, the good eventually triumphed over the evil, and the neighborhood was saved. No spoiler there.
Early in the film, the movie has a unique beginning by introducing the 7 main characters through simple scenes that display their character traits. We'll soon find ourselves connecting to at least one of the "misfits", may it be a geek (Data), a smooth-talker (Mouth), a clumsy happy-go-lucky (Chunk), a leader (Mikey), a sophisticated lady (Andy), a tomboyish sidekick (Stef) or a big brother (Brand). This is a smart move that allows the viewers to make the characters' journey our own and as a result we become more participative in their adventure, praying for their success.
As for me, I think it comes to no surprise that I am most connected to Chunk, a clumsy yet loyal fatty that has little interest beyond eating, played by Jeff Cohen. He was also tasked to create most of the laughs, like the one he recounted all his "worst deeds", including "stole my uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play" or "In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog". Imagine my surprise when I learned that Jeff Cohen grew up to be a slim and successful lawyer, while Sean Astin grew up to be Samwise Gamgee. Hee!
They don't make children film like this anymore. Old-fashioned and adventurous. Consider this: In this technology era where everyone including the kids has a smartphone (or two) and you check in places using Foursquare, a treasure map and an adventure indeed is unheard of. While kids nowadays think "never say die" is a tagline from some Nintendo games, we will forever hold The Goonies dear to our heart.
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