Stand by Me : Steven King Reexamined 40 years later

<p><strong>Episode Summary</strong></p><p>JR, Stacey, and King Jerm put the 1986 classic <em>Stand By Me</em> under the microscope. Directed by Rob Reiner and based on Stephen King's novella <em>The Body</em>, the film follows four young boys on an adventure to find a dead body — and features a star-studded cast before they were stars.</p><p><strong>What We Covered</strong></p><ul><li>The surprising Stephen King connection — and why JR didn't realize it until digging deeper</li><li>How the film fits into their ongoing series reviewing movies from 1986, 1996, and beyond</li><li>Stacey's honest take: she missed the opening and wasn't fully hooked, but would give it another watch</li><li>The iconic cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, and Kiefer Sutherland</li><li>The famous Ben E. King title track — and how neither host initially connected it to the movie</li><li>Box office: $7.5–8M budget → $52M gross</li><li>Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes 88%, Metacritic 75/100, CinemaScore A</li><li>Stephen King himself called it the <em>first successful film adaptation of his work</em>, and one of his favorites alongside <em>The Shawshank Redemption</em></li><li>Brownsville, Oregon hosts an annual <strong>Stand By Me Day</strong> on July 24th, complete with a pie-eating contest and outdoor screening</li></ul><p><strong>Ratings</strong></p><ul><li>Rotten Tomatoes: 88%</li><li>Metacritic: 75/100</li><li>CinemaScore: A</li></ul><p><br /></p>