Childhood Rejects
23
the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: huahua-hua-huaaaaaa-and then I dumped over the side, all over
the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the
people started getting sick and throwing up all over each
other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.
Later, when Andy tries to crack the code that will open the door to the
treasure chamber by playing the correct sequence of notes on the piano, she at
first hits a wrong one, and Mikey reassures her, saying, “It’s OK. You’re a
Goonie, and Goonies always make mistakes.” The message appeals to the
audience as well: kids do not have to be perfect in order to be accepted and
liked; they just have to be good enough.
Further, each of these flawed youths play an important role and contribute
to the final outcome. They support one another, and even adopt into their pack
the grotesque-looking, rejected but very loving member of the Fratellis—
Sloth—whose family is even more dysfunctional than any of their own. Sloth
helps them, giving them greater strength, and he and Chunk become like
brothers. “Sloth love Chunk,” he says. This ffiends-as-family phenomenon
makes the ensemble entertainment of Goonies attractive and relatable.
However, there is more is at play in Goonies besides friendship. The
situation the Goonies face resembles that of children in a changing family
situation who feel powerless but hope for happiness, not unlike many Gen Xers.
In a crucial scene in the film, the Goonies think they have found t