Thoughts at One AM

I spent last night watching Stand by Me. The movie is a classic by any standards, that’s why it’s repeated on television as much as Forrest Gump (this may be an overstatement, nothing gets played even half as much as Forrest Gump).


TBS Superstation. All Gump, all the time

 Never the less, Stand by Me is a movie icon, with great acting by the main cast, which brings me to my point. Where are all the movies starring kids? Specifically groups of kids. Sure there are movies that star the little rap scallions, but in recent times it seems that any movies starring kids is likely aimed towards kids. Movies like Stand by Me and E.T are ones that can be appreciated by kids older than twelve. The Spy Next Door is not.
Hollywood spouts out movies on anything. Board games, talking animals, childhood memories that should not be touched, the list goes on and on, and yet they seem hesitant on the PG-13 rated, kid heavy front. I know there has to be movies that feature children, I’m sure I’m missing out on some indie and foreign films, but even if you calculate my obvious oversights, the kid industry is not as ripe as it once was.

Kids have been able to handle themselves in movies for decades. Watching Stand by Me tonight for the first time since I was the protagonist’s age reminded me that their acting can be more powerful and raw then their adult equivalent. Kids are innocent and blunt, and as annoying as that may be in real life, in movies it can make some of the best experiences. I remember back in the early 90’s almost every movie starred a kid. These kids were misfit or orphan, or both, and they were always smarter than the adults that surrounded them. If you switched the main characters in two classic Christmas movies Kevin McCallister still probably could have taken down Hans Gruber. He was that smart and resourceful. Not to mention the lessons sports coaches like Danny Glover and Emilio Estevez learned from young Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s and certain Mighty Ducks. These kids were the best. Sometimes they said taboo words, sometimes they lead a team of downtrodden losers to win the championship, but there was always a quality in these kids that made them something to look up to. I can’t really think of a modern equivalent for my ten year old brother to idolize.

But what would a group of intelligent, capable, misfit kids look like in the ‘10’s? (Side note: seriously what are we calling this decade?) We will finally get to see a candidate with Super 8. The catch is Super 8 is an homage to the Steven Spielberg sci-fi movies of the late 70’s and early 80’s. So the Elliot from E.T vibe is totally intentional, and even with the groups of kids starring there still seems to be an adult cop that will steal a good amount of screen time. So is the general consensus that kids can’t hold their own movie? It’s not that there’s a lack of fantastic child actors. Hailee Steinfield proved that kids can be pretty fricken amazing when she starred in True Grit (sorry Melissa Leo, but your Oscar belongs in smaller hands). What is it? Hell if I know. I’m only a 20 year old girl making an observation at 1:30 on a Monday morning. 


Aside from Super 8, we probably won't see a resurfacing of groups of kids running the show. These types of movies are classics, and maybe they belong in the 80's and early 90's with mesh crop tops and tie-dye. That is unless Super 8 makes a billion dollars, then every 2nd movie will be a poor mans Goonies. 

Truffle Shuffle!