Mike Breen
In late April, actor Josh Gad launched a new web series called Reunited Apart. Inspired in part by the rise of video chats in the wake of the Coronavirus-caused lock downs (as well as the need for in-home entertainment), the show features remote reunions of the cast and crew behind some of the biggest movies of the ’80s. Along with bringing some entertaining distraction to the quarantined masses, the shows also encouraged viewers to donate to The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund.
The first episode of Reunited Apart featured the cast of the 1985 action/comedy The Goonies. Check out Goonies cast reunion:
Joining Gad from their various locales were Goonies stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Ke Huy Quan, Jeff Cohen, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano.
The actors shared memories from the filming of The Goonies and also talked a little about what they were currently up to. While most of them were still acting, Ke Huy Quan (who played Data) said he had only recently returned to the craft, inspired by the success of films like Crazy Rich Asians.
Cohen, who stole the show as Chunk in The Goonies, was the only one who no longer acted, though Brolin pointed out he was the one who most looked like an actor, as he sported a posh red blazer and sat on a Tony Montana (from Scarface) “throne” during the interview. Cohen is now a very successful entertainment lawyer.
The actors also recreated some classic scenes from The Goonies, including the one where Chunk drops a sculpture of Michelangelo’s David, then sticks David’s, um, “member” back on upside down, to which Brolin’s character Brandon Walsh says, “If God made it that way, you’d all be pissing in your faces.”
The 26-minute video also featured a couple of the men behind the film: screenwriter Chris Columbus (who also wrote Gremlins and directed films like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire) and director Richard Donner, who has helmed legendary films like Superman, Lethal Weapon and Scrooged. Donner, who was celebrating his 90th birthday on the day of the reunion, had a little technical difficulty at first, but robustly joined in the conversation eventually.
There were also a couple of surprise guests towards the end of the chat: film legend Steven Spielberg, who produced The Goonies, and Cyndi Lauper, who sang the theme song. Spielberg said a sequel has been discussed many times over the years, but they’ve never found a good enough script — he still seemed open to the idea, though. Lauper “led” the assembled cast and crew through a shambolic sing-along of “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” to close out the show.
A “blooper” reel from the Goonies chat was also released.
