Stand by Me
Stand by Me looks beatable until it isn't. The semi-final struggles drag the 47% overall rate down — but final-round performance tells a different story. Nostalgia is a loaded weapon in brackets, and no film deploys it more precisely — four boys walking down train tracks in 1959 is an image that makes voters protective before the comparison even begins.
Synopsis
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie, Vern, Chris and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Something happens between the semis and the final. At 29%, Stand by Me looks beatable. At 64% in the final, it suddenly isn't. The later rounds concentrate the audience that cares most.
At 46%, the matchup with When Harry Met Sally... is the tightest in Stand by Me's record — close enough to go either way. Stand by Me owns A Few Good Men at 67% but The Princess Bride flips the script entirely: just 22%.
In Inconceivable! Rob Reiner's Golden Age, Stand by Me opens steadily against This Is Spinal Tap and takes the final against Misery at 57%.
In Rob Reiner's filmography, Stand by Me ranks #5 of 8. The Princess Bride leads at 67%; The Sure Thing at 36% trails.
#5 of 8 in Inconceivable! Rob Reiner's Golden Age.
Where should it rank? Cast your vote.
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