Residents of the Goon Docks neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon are being evicted from their homes to make way for an expansion of a nearby country club. Currently living there is a gang of kids that refer to themselves as the “Goonies”. The members of the Goonies are Mikey (Sean Astin), Chunk (Jeff Cohen), Data (Ke Huy Quan), and Mouth (Corey Feldman). They often hang out with Mikey’s older brother, Brand (Josh Brolin), and school friends, Andy (Kerri Green) and Stef (Martha Plimpton).
While helping to pack for the movie the kids find an ancient treasure map in the attic and an old doubloon. The map was reportedly written by an old pirate named One-Eyed Willie. Legend has it that he and his crew disappeared with the treasure. Mikey is convinced that the treasure is located somewhere in the area. With nothing to lose and adventure on the horizon, the Goonies decide to try to find the treasure so they can save their homes from the developers.
Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) is the matriarch of a gang of criminals, represented by her sons, Jake (Robert Davi) and Francis (Joe Pantoliano). Jake is in jail so Mama and Francis break him out and head out of town. They’re makeshift headquarters is a restaurant near the coast. This happens to be the same restaurant that Mikey determines is where the gang will find clues for One-eyed Willie’s treasure.
While out searching for the treasure the group runs afoul of Mama Fratelli and her sons as well as Mama’s deformed and retarded other son, Sloth (John Matuszak).
“The Goonies” was released in 1985 and was directed by Richard Donner. It is an American family adventure comedy fantasy. The film was written by Chris Columbus and Steven Spielberg. In 2017 the film was selected into the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Supposedly, a sequel, “Goonies 2” is in development but some of the original cast members deny it.
You have a bunch of energetic kids running around having adventures. It makes for an incredibly fast paced film and a fun adventure. It is very family oriented and brings out the kid in adults as well. I mean, who doesn’t like a pirate ship. The dialogue is also fast with seven kids all talking at the same time, you may need to watch the film more than once in order to get the full feel of everything going on.
The actor who plays Sloth is former American professional football player John “Tooz” Matuszak. Cindi Lauper did a music video for the movie called “The Goonies R Good Enough”, co-written by Lauper. Originally the song was called “Good Enough” but was changed to tie in more with the movie.
Several scenes were deleted from the film. The most iconic one is what is referred to as the “Octopus Scene”. I’ll include it.
An oath taken by anyone who becomes a member of the gang was also cut from the film. The Goonies Oath: "I will never betray my goon dock friends. We will stick together until the whole world ends. Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war. Good pals like us, will stick like tar. In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies. I am proudly declared a fellow Goonie."