Wonkette Movie Night: The Goonies
'Hey you guys!'
Life in Astoria has been a good place for a kid to grow up. But now an evil, greedy developer wants to turn this village into a golf course and resort. As the economy was at a low point, the developers started buying up foreclosed homes from desperate people. This sounds an awful lot like a former real estate developer and current convicted felon you might be familiar with.
But this Astoria is not in Queens, New York, but in Oregon, on the Pacific coast. The area is known as the “Goon Docks” and that’s where our group of young adventurers take their name. The Goonies consist of Mikey and his big brother Brand, plus friends Data, Mouth, Chunk, Andy, and Stef.
They manage to find a treasure map and set off in search of hidden loot from One-Eyed Willy. A story that all the locals know and most believe to be just made-up fantasies to entertain children. But the Fratellis, a couple of bad guys with their criminal mother, are hiding right where the Goonies think the cache of jewels and gold is concealed.
The Goonies was produced by Steven Spielberg and you see many of the booby traps and Rube Goldberg machines that he utilized so well in the first two Indiana Jones films. The young group of treasure seekers work their way through an underground maze while being pursued by the Fratellis, all with that hope of finding a chest full precious gems and gold doubloons.
As the Goonies zero in on the whereabouts of One-Eyed Willy’s loot so do the Fratellis. But the Goonies have added a new member to their group, Sloth. He is the youngest of the Fratelli brothers who has been abused and locked up in chains by his family because he is different. Chunk and Sloth have bonded over a Baby Ruth candy bar and together the chubby kid and the outcast may end up being the heroes of the story. A reminder not to underestimate anyone whose heart is good.
The Goonies stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Ke Huy Quan, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi, and John Matuszak. Directed by Richard Donner.
The Goonies is available with subscription on Max and Hulu. Free with ads on Tubi. $3.99 in the usual places.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.]
The animated short is The Fox And The Bird by Fred and Sam Guillaume.
Our next Movie Night selection is the Academy Award winning Zootopia, it is available with subscription on Disney+. $3.99 in the usual places.
I cut most of my hair off today. Shaved on one side, short on the other. Going back to my punk rock roots. ETA: I went full mohawk. https://substack.com/@ziggywiggy/note/c-114391315?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=2knfuc
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
During a March 2022 "New York" magazine interview with Ke Huy Quan (Data) to promote his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Quan said that his entertainment lawyer is his "Goonies" co-star Jeff Cohen. During a January 2023 Hollywood Reporter actors' roundtable, Quan said that it was Cohen who drew up his deal to appear in Everything Everywhere All at Once: "He's all grown now, he's an entertainment lawyer--he's my entertainment lawyer. So when the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said, he would never have imagined that we would have to talk to Chunk to get Data to be in his movie. Yeah, it was just so sweet!" When Quan won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Cohen was one of the people he thanked in his acceptance speech, calling him "my Goonies brother for life."