Movies That Stayed With Me: The Goonies
/Maybe it was fate that the main character and I shared a first name, but The Goonies left a lasting impression on me.
Goonies was the first movie I ever saw that had kids as the leads. I related to Chunk—not just because I was overweight, but because of the way his friends teased him and his constant search for relevance.
Maybe I didn’t realize it back then, but Chunk’s stories resonated with me because they were his way of calling for help. He wanted people to listen to him and take him seriously. He thought his lies would help him be important. But it was his caring nature that won out in the end. His ability to befriend Sloth—someone else who was trapped by those who were supposed to care for him—was what ultimately set them both free. He unshackled Sloth and threw off his own weights that were keeping him down to find his way in the world.
“Stef: Data where are you going?
Data: I’m setting booty traps.
Stef: You mean booby traps?
Data: THATS WHAT I SAID! BOOBY TRAPS! Be quiet. SHHH! God. These Guys!”
The kids in the movie were not helpless. They had agency, and took action. Mikey took the lead, but he didn’t have all the answers—he just knew finding the gold was the only way to keep his friends together.
That desire to resist change and hold onto friendships stuck with me long after I first saw the movie.
I moved a lot in my teenage years. At one point I realized that someone in my immediate family had moved every year for seven years. Watching Mikey and the Goonies fight to hold onto the life they knew—and the friendships they cherished—felt like watching a version of my own story I could never have. It was like watching an alternative universe version of myself.
Plus, it’s Indiana Jones with kids—treasure maps, booby traps, and an epic adventure filled with danger and discovery!