- THE FEAR OF THE LORD— What is it? Is it important?
- WISDOM— What is it and how can I become wiser?
- PURITY— Why should I save sex for marriage?
- DISEASE AND SUFFERING— Why is the world the way it is? Did God create it this way?
- EFFECTIVE RESPONSES— How can I best respond to tough questions from unbelievers?
- The Last Supper
- Snow White
- Novocaine
- Mickey 17
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Paddington in Peru
- Love Hurts
- Flight Risk
- Wolf Man
- Survive
Dakota Fanning, age , actress—“The Watchers,” “The Equalizer 3,” “Push,” “War of the Worlds,” “Man on Fire,” “Hide and Seek,” “Super 8,” “Phoebe in Wonderland,” “We Bought a Zoo” • Faith: Unclear, raised Southern Baptist • Majored in women’s studies at NYU, with a focus on the portrayal of women in film and culture
Natalie Portman, age —actress, producer, director, writer—“Black Swan,” “V for Vendetta,” “Closer,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “No Strings Attached,” “Star Wars” prequel trilogy • Faith: Judaism with atheist leanings and no belief in an afterlife. Portman was born in Israel and speaks Hebrew. Worldview: Progressive Liberalism (activist), LGBT activism, long-time pal of Hillary Clinton
Please take a moment now to pray for these influential people (prayer suggestions).
Stand by Me
Reviewed by: Charles Kim
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adult |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 29 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1986 |
| USA Release: |
August 8, 1986 (wide) Video: August 29, 2000 |
Friendship
Immaturity
Coming of age
Innocence lost
Death of brother
Troubled teens
Underage smoking
Juvenile delinquency
Traumatic childhood
Child abuse
Grief
Betrayal
How do I know what is right from wrong? Answer
How can I decide whether a particular activity—such as smoking, gambling, etc.—is wrong? Answer
Moral dilemmas
Heroism and courage
Insanity
| Featuring |
Wil Wheaton … Gordie Lachance River Phoenix … Chris Chambers Corey Feldman … Teddy Duchamp Jerry O'Connell … Vern Tessio Kiefer Sutherland … Ace Merrill Richard Dreyfuss … The Writer John Cusack … Denny Lachance See all » |
| Director |
Rob Reiner |
| Producer |
Columbia Pictures Corporation Act III Communications See all » |
| Distributor |
One of the classic films from the 1980’s, “Stand By Me”, is based on a Stephen King novella, The Body, and is from the book, Different Seasons that also inspired the more recent films, “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Apt Pupil.” I had always heard that the film was a true gem, but I never had the opportunity to view it. Fortunately, a few weeks ago it aired late night on cable TV so I decided to sacrifice 2 hours of sleep to watch it, and I was so glad that I did! The film left an indelible mark on my heart.
The film revolves around four boys who go off in search of the body of a missing teenager in the surrounding woods of their small town in Oregon. The group consists of Gordie, a shy boy who is neglected by his parents after the death of his older brother; Chris, the leader of the group who comes from an abusive family; Teddy, the crazy one; and Vern, the scaredy-cat. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles and discover different lessons about life and friendship. It is a retrospective look at growing up and really makes you hanker for the good old days of childhood gone by.
Aside from the great story and character interactions, the film includes A LOT of profanity, which is surprising because the stars of the film are all of young age, and the film is set in the late 1950’s, a much purer period in American history. The film also includes some scenes of sexual language aimed at each other for ridicule. There are a few scenes of attempted violence involving a knife and gun, but nothing to shield your eyes from. Drug use is also prevalent in scenes of cigarette smoking by the young stars and alcohol consumption from minor characters.
Christianity isn’t really mentioned in the film, but God is referred to in an exchange between Chris and Gordie, where Chris encourages Gordie to pursue his writing skills because it is a gift from God. Other than that, God is not a real factor in the film.
Stephen King, age , is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, and disturbing sci-fi. The demonic clown in his film “It” says he wants to feed off people’s fear—that pretty much sums up King’s business plan.
This has made him a wealthy man, having sold hundreds of millions of books, millions of movie tickets, videos, TV movies, and comic books adapted from his work. His stories are reportedly often based on his own fears and phobias.
His films include: “Doctor Sleep,” “It” and “It Chapter II,” “The Dark Tower,” “Carrie,” “The Shining,” “1408,” “The Mist,” “The Green Mile,” “Firestarter,” and others.
His faith: Secularism (but not an Atheist), ex-Methodist (left as a teenager). He hates organized religion and misrepresents the Bible and true followers of Christ. Stephen’s daughter Naomi with her same-sex partner is a Unitarian Universalist Church minister (Florida). His son Joe wrote the extremely offensive film, “Horns” (2014). However, Stephen’s brother David became a Bible-believing, evangelical Christian.
His worldview: Evolutionism, Leftism (staunch and outspoken), Environmentalism
Quotes from Stephen King
“I think that we’re all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better—and maybe not all that much better after all.”
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”
“My dad has hated me for as long as I can remember.”
“When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, ‘Why God? Why me?’ and the thundering voice of God answered, There’s just something about you that p*sses me off.”
“I understand where Bill Maher is coming from when he says, basically, the world is destroying itself over a bunch of fairy tales about talking snakes and men who are alive inside fishes. I’m very sympathetic to it, but at the same time, given the cosmos that we’re living in, it’s very persuasive, the idea that there is some kind of first cause that’s running things. It might not be the God of Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, it might not be the god of al-Qaida, and it might not be the God of Abraham, but something very well could be running things.
The order of the universe as we see it, the interlocking nature, and the way things work together, are persuasive of the idea that there may be some overarching first cause.”
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion, and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud.”
Although there is an absence of Christian themes, it takes nothing away from the entertainment value of the film. In short, it is a film about friends and how we should cherish them. The film is full of moving performances by talented young actors and a really great score and soundtrack. I would suggest the film for any adult who is nostalgic for childhood memories and enjoys a tender look at growing up.
If one wants to view the film in the presence of younger viewers, I would suggest presenting a taped copy off television, where it is heavily edited and doesn’t really damage the movie’s effectiveness. “Stand By Me” is an unforgettable film.
The movie is Rated R for language (about a dozen F words, and yes, sadly, God’s name is misused—EG God “Dang” it) and some underage smoking and gun use. However, the movie is about 12 year olds, and is best viewed by 12 year olds, IF parents discuss the content with the kids afterwards.
Despite that, it’s a wonderful movie, I can’t recommend it enough.
Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in Christian Spotlight reviews are those of the reviewers themselves, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Christian Answers.
