For some reason or another this post wouldn't stay up. Here we go again...
Aug 10, 2004
I went to see The Goonies this weekend. Yup- THE GOONIES…at the Route 66 Drive In on Saturday night. It was a blast! You must understand that I adore this movie- it’s pure magic for me. It was at the end of my 6th grade school year when it came out in the theatres. I’d had a half-day from school and it was pouring down rain. My friend Di Di and I went to see the matinee at the now defunct Fox theatre. We loved the movie so much that we hid in the bathroom after the show and snuck back in to see it 2 more times ( a trick that served me well throughout my teen years).
I remember wondering if it was really possible to have an adventure like that? An adventure filled with crooks & pirates, chases & puzzles, waterfalls & jewels; An adventure in which you start out as just a kid and end up a hero (or at least a bit more grown-up); An adventure with people who will become your friends forever.
I went to see the movie with a good friend- Trish, two friends I’m still getting to know- Ella, and Bekah (who had never seen the movie), and a new friend- Alex. Ella organized this little adventure- Trish had been telling me I needed to have an "Ella movie experience". Ella drives a pickup, which is perfect for drive-in movie viewing. She threw a big rug and pillows in the truck-bed, and I supplied the blankets. Trish, Alex, and I made a little nest and hunkered down for the ride. We were never really sure if it was illegal to ride in the truck bed or not, but just to be safe we kept low. It was exciting and a little bit dangerous, and we felt like little kids doing something naughty.
Covered in the huge wool blanket that had once adorned my mother’s bed in college, we looked up at the passing streetlamps. City streets, once familiar, took on a whole new life. Trying to guess where we were, by the dips in the road and the tree canopy overhead, was a refreshing perspective.
We made a pit stop at Shop-n-Save to load up on drinks and snacks. The store is in Jerome jurisdiction and there were cops in the parking lot. Not knowing whether we were legal in the truck or not, and not wanting to deal with Johnny Law, Ella swung around the back of the store to drop us off. Trying to play it stealthy turned into slapstick for me. As I attempted to dismount from the truck, I ended up falling back in. (Note to self: no horseback riding any time soon).
The night was cool and everyone except Alex had a hoodie. I gave him my leather to wear. Something about the protective armor of a leather jacket makes you walk a bit taller. As we walked into the store we all commented on Alex’s attire. Bekah eventually turned this into the idea that he was “Lexi Ramone”: the long lost English Ramone brother. “Lexi” ended up keeping us in stitches later that night with running commentary-in full cockney- on the film and it’s characters.
After purchasing our bevvies and enough candy to make Willy Wonka proud, we loaded back into Ella’s truck. Living dangerously, (ha-ha) we did this in plain view of the entire Shop-n-Save parking lot. Feeling a bit nostalgic for the 80’s in theme with the movie, the short ride to the drive-in was filled with songs: Paula Abdul and the theme to The Never Ending Story.
Ella found a prime spot in the lot for us to park the truck- right up front. She and Bekah filed in with the bevies and we made ourselves cozy.
We had a ball! Everyone was remembering favorite quotes and scenes from the movie as it went a long:
“We’ll let you in Chunk, but you gotta do the Truffle-Shuffle!”
“bootytrap”…”boobytrap”…”That’s what I say! Bootytrap!”
“Baby Ruuuuuth?”
“That’s their time up there…but this is OUR time down here!”
“Hey yooouuu guuuyyys!”
All this culminating into a big sing- along for the movie’s theme song “Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper.
Later that night Alex made his way into the Underground city Tavern. I was sitting at the bar drinking a Red Bull watching him come down the stairs. In true Goonies fashion I was compelled to yell…
”Alex! Alex! That’s their time up there…BUT THIS IS OUR TIME DOWN HERE!”
Alex and I had to yell it all over again in unison- people were staring at us like we were sharing some bizarre inside joke (which we were). Funny thing is, the manager of UCT Brian Riley, was watching our little exchange. He had seen Trish, Alex and I earlier that night at the Black Ice & Timmys show and knew we were going to see The Goonies. With a big smile he said that “this is our time down here” is a great quote from our generation. Brian said he is going to use it in next weeks print ads for the Underground. That will put a smile on my face.
It’s funny to think that a movie I saw when I was 12 can still stir up the same emotions nearly 20 years later. The Goonies is still magical for me. Like Peter Pan, the Wizard of Oz, or Star Wars is for some. I could see it a thousand more times and be transported back into my 12 year old-mind enjoying the adventure; An adventure with pirates and puzzles and friends; An adventure where you start out a kid and end up…all grown-up.
Next movie I want to see at the Drive In: The Dark Crystal
