There was something about The Goonies that triggered magic in every little kid with big dreams and adventure fantasy's. I went to the theatre to see the film when I was about 9 or 10 and it brought to life every adventure I ever dreamed of. The Goonies represented all of those endless summer holiday's from school when I believed every trip to the beach would bring buried treasure and every trip into the woods would lead to the discovery of Big Foot or some other creature of the Forrest. Always prepared mentally to face the dragon, those imaginary adventures always included putting up a good fight, but also tons of running for your life!
I am usually not a fan of the those 'where are they now' shots. Usually they are done to ridicule and get joy out of the fact someone once beautiful has gotten older. Fact is we all get older, many get wider, all of us get wrinkles. There is almost something unnatural and rare, maybe even diabolical (Jane Fonda...) when someones body does not grow at the same rate as their age.
But, when the second image above appeared on my Facebook timeline this week, I had to stop and smile at the beautiful irony surrounding it. The image of The Goonies cast today may have been around for awhile but it was the first time I had seen it.
Josh Brolin (Milwaukee, Minnesota, 2003)
At different times in my life, I crushed over many of the cast members, Jonathan Ke Quan, Sean Astin and Josh Brolin. For me, Josh was never hotter than during those his time on The Goonies. He is still a good looking man, but there is a hardness about Brolin. Even when hosting Saturday Night Live, it always seems like he wants to kill, or least punch, someone. I must admit, I never really had a crush on Feldman, but I do love him in one of my all time favorite movies, The Lost Boys.
Corey Feldman (Blown Away, 1993)
Sean Astin was always my favorite. I remember sitting with friends as a teen, still firmly 'straight' seeing Toy Soldiers. When Sean jumped wet into that window, dropped his pants and ran across the room, I had difficulty sitting still, squirming just a little and sweating quite a bit. I am not sure if any of the guys I was with noticed, but I felt all eyes were on me.
Sean Astin (Toy Soldiers, 1991)
Now I can't say I ever had a crush on Chunk, although he was a favorite character in the flick. There is a true beauty to seeing actor Jeff Cohen now. A successful California attorney, he appears confident, healthy and incredibly good looking. Jeff really seems to have aged and matured better than many and considering all the teen idols that Jeff shared the screen with, how wonderful is it that Chunk... is now a hunk!
