Stand By Me

I often think of acting as a persons ability to be fake...to represent themselves in a way that is unlike their true self. I use this idea to judge whether or not an actor is good at their job...for example, Ben Affleck plays the exact same role in every film that he is in, and acts the exact same way...this means he is not a great actor. I have always been most impressed with child actors, because they are required to use a skill set that is completely unlike the purity of childhood. Many child actors are comparable to Ben Affleck in their ability to act, but are very, very popular despite their poor acting skill (ie. Macauley Culkin, Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bines, Joshua Jackson, Molly Ringwald, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas). Then, there are the few child actors who have shown incredible skill (ie. Abigail Breslin, Dakota Fanning, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie in A Christmas Story), Kirsten Dunst, and even Haley Joel Osmet). In this film, we see some good (but not great) child actors at their very best...they are all great in this film. Stand by Me is one of the best coming of age movies of all time, and will be required viewing for movie lovers for decades. It is based on a novella by Steven King entitled "The Body", and was directed by Rob Reiner (who has brought us a number of timeless classics, including The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and This is Spinal Tap). The plot is very simple, but the dialogue is hilarious and the overall feel of the movie is breathtaking. Overall, I give this film 4 1/2 pigs.