Because Stand by Me feels somewhat like an elongated short story (as it's based on Stephen King's novella The Body), its cinematic metaphors stand our like motifs in an Edith Wharton or a D.H. Lawrence work. My favorite among the metaphors is that of the train, which zooms into frame sometimes innocently and oftentimes violently. When Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) stands in the tracks and stares down the charging locomotive or when all four kids must dart across a bridge to evade the speeding vehicle, it's clear the train stands for the harrowing, often uninvited brushes with a new reality the characters already understand too well. There's no denying how well Rob Reiner pinpointed "the end of childhood" in Stand By Me, and the train symbolizes the necessary, but painful eventuality of that transition.
Plus, I love when Teddy announces, "And while you guys are dragging your candy-asses halfway across the state and back, I'll be waiting for you on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts." Even a traumatized burnout like Teddy knows that "candy-ass" can be an effective, hilarious barb. (And of course, Gordie's rejoinder, "You use your left hand or your right hand for that?" is just as funny.)
Oh, and Kiefer Sutherland's shock-blond Brigitte Nielsen 'do is cute too. Hit the comments with your favorite underrated moment from Stand By Me.