"Stand By Me"

Stand By Me is the story of four twelve year olds living in a small town in the year 1959, whose lives were changed by a chance adventure that they embarked on at the end of an indolent summer. The four boys were Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio. The boys had their own tree house with its special club rules, including a secret knock, and spent their time in meaningless arguments, playing …

…is told, how the flashbacks move around in time when necessary, and especially in the hilarious "story within a story" told by Gordie at the campfire about "Lardass" Hogan and the pie eating contest. While the boys characters are quite believable, well acted, and superbly cast, the cathartic revelations of the boys' innermost feelings, fears, and self-doubts almost "on cue" show the sure hand of writer Stephen King more than a sense of total reality.