Starring - Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen & Corey Feldman.
Running Time - 114 minutes
Rated - PG

I recently had a conversation with a couple of girls who were eight years younger than me and we were listing our all time favourite movies. When I mentioned the above film I was just greeted with blank faces. I would bet my house on the fact if I asked the same question to someone of my age I would be welcomed with the same enthusiasm as myself. It then struck me that there are people out in the world who haven’t seen The Goonies, and that made me sad.

This is youthful entertainment in its purest form and I don’t know a single person who has a bad word to say about it. It’s easy to watch and no matter how many times you’ve seen it, you’ll never get bored of it.

The film is based around a very young Sean Astin, who most would recognise as Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings movies. Sean plays Mikey whose neighbourhood is under threat from developers preparing to foreclose Goon Docks. Mikey Walsh, his older brother Brandon and the other misfit members of the Goonies gang follow an old treasure map to the lost booty of pirate One-Eyed Willy, pursued along the way by the Fratelli mob.

The movie is like a youthful take on Indiana Jones and it just gripped you so much that you wished so badly to part of their gang. The story was masterfully written, and like plenty of great films of our time it had Steven Spielberg’s’ name too it. It has a mixture of comedy, romance and adventure that engages any imagination of a child who has dreamed of excitement in their boring hometown.

The young cast, including Astin, Corey Feldman and Jeff Cohen, are complemented by a string of sharp one-liners and we get a taste of the tough humour that defines friendships alongside the fact that the Goonies are a band of gadget-loving oddballs and rejects.

I can only hope that maybe one Christmas, this film is put back on for a lazy Boxing Day for a whole new audience to witness its greatness. This was a right of passage for all children of my age and I still think that should be the case now. If you have no luck finding it on telly, it’s probably in the bargain bin of your local video store for £1…go treat yourself.

Best Bit: Hey you guyyyyyyyyyssssssssss!!!!

Rating: 5 out of 5, I’m convinced it paved the way for ‘feel good films’ all over. This is for movies what Tiger Woods is to golf, simply unstoppable.