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The Goldbergs ‘R’ Good Enough
Spoiler Alert: This is a Recap of “The Goldbergs” from March 4, 2014
Using our imagination to create something out of nothing is a skill and, in some cases, a magically inspiring art form. This random, cognitive creativity can be accelerated to levels unbound when influenced by a mythical story, like say the 1985 cult classic The Goonies.
“I’m just about to watch the good part. Which is all of it.”
Unfortunately for Adam, his love for The Goonies was discovered and exposed by Barry and Erica, his older brother and sister. This led to an adventure of epic proportions that took Adam and his cast of Goonie-dressed friends (plus Barry and Erica) directly across the street by way of riding their movie-inspired bikes to, according to the “treasure map,” look into opening of the neighbors tree, which revealed…
That Adam had to (once again) endure the tortuous pranks by his older siblings. His friends were sympathetic, but his journey was destroyed by a sibling prank. Even his friend designated Chunk (with the help of a pillow) was complaining about having to eat a chocolate bar instead of a granola bar.
For fans of the movie, the latter was the final bullet hole in the Jeep Cherokee.
The thrill of discovering a lost treasure on a giant pirate ship hidden deep below his suburban street was gone. Mikey Adam had to face the reality that his quest for finding buried treasure had come to an end.
Or so he thought…
While famous scenes and characters from The Goonies were perfectly recreated with an unforgettable soundtrack, Beverly and Murray were insisting that Pops get his finances in order. The days of 3 massages/week and buying pancakes for everybody in the local diner were over (who likes Bloody Mary’s?). Beverly was searching for and desperate to find jewelry that Pops had insisted he had given to her years ago. However, both Pops and Beverly knew he never did, but they entertainingly danced around that reality for a little while when Beverly decided to clean the entire house to prove her point.
While some may describe this effort as a waste of time, how else would Beverly have found a small collection of household necessities like throwing stars, delicious snacks hidden in secret places and a machete?
Okay, after reading what she found, I know what you’re thinking…What kinds of snacks did she find? The answer: the best kinds!
During this third-degree investigation into the affluent life of Pops (where a half-birthday in a couple months equaled $20), he was panicking to remember where he put the jewelry meant for Beverly. Enter Adam. Despite a failed first attempt for precious gold and silver coins, he, (like the Goonies) was relentless in his quest for treasure. Adam took the case and enlisted his Goonies crew once more.
Feeling bad for teasing their younger brother (and the fact he said they were “dead to him” in that fun, sibling kind of way), Barry and Erica got back in character to find Pops’ missing bag of jewelry. Returning back to their attic of secrets, a ripped piece of sheet music + a forgotten framed picture = “X/the spot.”
Riding their bikes to Cyndi Lauper’s classic, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” the Goldbergs and friends ventured down to Pops’ old/Murray’s currently-owned furniture store. They needed to find an old piano in storage. With Barry’s help to life a heavy box (still easier than a boulder), Adam crawled under to find the piano and opened it up to find…
The treasure/bag of jewelry!
Even without a ghost pirate ship passing by in the distance, it was still an unequivocal success.
Adam got his Goonies adventure, Beverly got her promised bag of jewelry and Barry and Erica started to realize just how much fun it was to escape reality for a day with their movie-obsessed little brother.
For Adam (and Pops), it all worked out.
And things especially “worked out” for Barry and his private aerobic instructor: his mom Beverly.
Big Tasty got fit with a parade of awesome mother-son bonding.
“Hey, you guys,” these fun, goofy moments and random adventures are the ones we all treasure forever.
“Goonies/Goldbergs/Your Last Name Never Say Die!”
…Sorry, I Just Zoned-Out for a Minute
The mere passing of time has a funny way of evolving the things in our daily lives. Add in the fact that humans have long proven they will innovate to varying degrees (and yes, I am aware of The Dark Ages) during a certain amount of time. Whether in days, weeks, months, years or decades, familiar things change. Incentives arise. Reality is altered for the future. This can pertain to a myriad of items or even entire environments.
It can also involve stories.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is not a new story by any stretch of the imagination. However, the version known to a particular generation varies. For instance, there are two movies derived from the famous James Thurber short story of 1939 of the same name, one in 1947 and one recently released in 2013.
Same title, different interpretation.
Part of this distinction between the two major motion pictures is due to the year it was produced and the world we lived in and are currently living in at the moment. Another prominent factor is not only the technology available, but also filmmakers trying to define who Walter Mitty would be back then and today. Where would he live? What would he do for a career? What or who does he dream about and why?
Below are two trailers for the two film adaptations of the Thurber classic.
Same character, different time.
Do you know a Walter Mitty? Are you Walter Mitty?
Only time will tell.
FYI: Friday is a pretty good day to find out either way…
P.S. Walter Mitty in 2013 is well-worth daydreaming about in a movie theater for a couple hours.
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