Stand by Me (1986)
"If I could only have one food to eat for the rest of my life?" "That's easy. Pez. Cherry flavor Pez. No question about it."
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but 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.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 8 August 1986 |
| Genre | Drama, Adventure |
| Director | Rob Reiner |
| Starring | Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Corey Feldman |
| Runtime | 89 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8/10 · Metacritic 75/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 88% · TMDB users 7.8/10 |
Where to watch Stand by Me
We could not find Stand by Me on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Rent or buy
You can rent Stand by Me on Apple TV, Prime Video, Fandango at Home and Plex. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Stand by Me in 27 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Algeria | Netflix about |
| Andorra | Netflix |
| Australia | Binge $19.00 AUD, Foxtel |
| Austria | Netflix €10.99, Skygo |
| Fiji | Netflix about |
| France | Netflix €14.99 |
| French Guiana | Netflix |
| French Polynesia | Netflix about |
| Germany | Netflix €15.99, Skygo |
| Hong Kong | Netflix HK$78 |
| Indonesia | Netflix Rp65000 |
| Ireland | Skygo |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Liechtenstein | Netflix |
| Luxembourg | Netflix €10.99 |
| Malaysia | Netflix RM33.90 |
| Mauritius | Netflix about |
| Monaco | Netflix |
| Morocco | Netflix |
| Philippines | Netflix ₱279 |
| Singapore | Netflix $15.98 SGD |
| South Korea | Watcha |
| Switzerland | Netflix CHF14.90 |
| Taiwan | Netflix NT$290 |
| Thailand | Netflix ฿169 |
| Tunisia | Netflix about |
| United Kingdom | Skygo |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Rob Reiner’s 1986 drama runs 89 minutes, a tight frame for a story about four boys who walk to see a dead body. The hook is not the corpse. It is the walk. The boys navigate a junkyard and a leech-filled marsh, but the real terrain is the distance between their home lives. They start as a lark and end as something more defined. It is a film about how a single afternoon can calcify into a memory that outlasts the people who made it.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes reports an 88% approval rating as of January 2026, with an average score of 8/10 from October 2021. Metacritic sits at 75 out of 100 as of August 2025, a range that signals generally favorable reviews. The consensus leans on Reiner’s warmth and the cast’s authenticity. Not everyone agreed. Walter Goodman of The New York Times found the direction "self-conscious," while Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune saw "manufactured drama." Those critics likely thought the script was doing the directing.
What came next for the cast
Wil Wheaton went from The Last Starfighter to Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Big Bang Theory. River Phoenix moved from Explorers to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and My Own Private Idaho. Corey Feldman shifted from Gremlins and The Goonies to The Lost Boys and Maverick. The credits show where they went, not what this film did to them. That distinction matters.
Where it left its mark
Alex Hannaford argued in 2011 that the film remains a top-tier Eighties title for anyone older than 33. He noted its charm resonates with every generation. By 2016, writers marked the 30th anniversary by calling it a coming-of-age classic. Rolling Stone’s Charles Bramesco described it as timeless, praising how it straddles the line between childhood and adulthood. He called it a rare movie that gets better with time. Others placed it at the apex of the ’80s kids’ movie boom.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Stand by Me.
Sources
- Stand by Me on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q494722 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Stand by Me (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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