Latest news with #Chunk
Gizmodo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
We Love ‘The Goonies,' but Something Irks Us All These Years Later
One of the many blessings/curses that comes with aging is a new perspective on things. Movies, for example. You can watch a movie a billion times growing up, learn to quote every line, buy posters and toys, and revel in how watching it makes you feel like a kid again. Then, you watch it a few years later and notice something you never noticed before. Something that didn't matter when you were 10, 20, or 30. But at 40 or 50, you can't quite get your head around it. This doesn't ruin the movie exactly, but adds a new layer you never quite expected. This is what happened to me recently as I watched The Goonies, which celebrated its 40th anniversary June 7. The Goonies is a Lussier family tradition. It's my brother's favorite movie of all time, which makes it one of mine as well, and something we shared with our late parents, too. Our mother even nicknamed my brother, who had chubby cheeks as a baby, 'Chunk.' So yeah, The Goonies is something we love and adore. It's also the ultimate kid wish-fulfillment story. Run out the door with your friends and end up on an epic adventure where you defeat the bad guys, find a pirate ship, and get rich in the process. I still feel and enjoy all of that every time I watch it. And yet, I realized recently that the actual crux of The Goonies doesn't quite add up. If you haven't watched the movie in a while, you have at least a general idea of what I'm talking about. The whole point of the movie is that a group of rich people is forcing the Goonies (a nickname given to the kids in this particular neighborhood) and their families out of their Astoria, Oregon, houses to build a golf course. To fix this, the kids go on an adventure, find some 'rich stuff,' and eventually pay off their parents' debt. As a kid, this is all crystal clear and, if you only think about it on that level, it remains so. However, as an adult who has now dealt with bills, debt, lawyers, and everything else, I now find a few holes in this premise. Let's break this down. Perkins Financial, led by Troy's dad, Mr. Perkins, is the company forcing families to leave their homes, which will then be demolished to make way for this golf course. Troy himself, the evil son of the main guy, suggests there are about 50 houses about to suffer this fate. How is Perkins Financial able to do this? Well, they are foreclosing on these houses, a fact that's not hugely focused on in the movie, but it's in there. Foreclosure is basically when you can no longer afford to pay your mortgage, so someone swoops in to take it from you. 'The foreclosure is a definite,' Mr. Perkins says to his associate after they drop off the paper at the Walsh house, home to Mikey and Brand, two of our main characters. The issues begin when you start thinking beyond the Walsh house at the center of the movie. The 'Goon Docks,' as the characters call it, is a big, populated neighborhood. As the film opens, you see lots of beautiful houses and bustling businesses. They're doing truck races on the beach. There's a nice museum in town. The kids take piano lessons, buy expensive bicycles, and make inventions. Mrs. Walsh, who is supposed to be broke, even hires someone to clean and pack their entire house for them (the day before she's supposed to move, which is a whole other thing). Astoria is rural, but it's nice. And we're to believe that somehow 50 families in a very specific neighborhood of the community, a community which is wealthy enough to support a country club, have all, simultaneously, stopped being able to pay their mortgages, allowing Perkins Financial to swoop in. This would make a lot of sense if Astoria were some kind of industrial town with everyone working for a single employer. But that's not the case. We do see Data hanging out at an abandoned factory for a second at the beginning, but there's no evidence that it was a central part of town. In fact, Mikey even mentions moving to Detroit where, at the time, the auto industry would've fit this bill perfectly. Instead, when we see the families of the Goonies at the end, they represent what looks to be a well-rounded, diverse community. Different interests, backgrounds, and financial situations. Something must have happened that put them all into simultaneous hardship, and not knowing what it is kind of got to me. Did everyone invest in the same bad stocks? Was there some kind of gas leak that tanked property value? Did a serial killer run around and make the neighborhood uninhabitable? We don't know. You could argue, potentially, that not everyone owned their homes. Maybe some of them were renting, which works as an explanation to a point. An owner can certainly, legally, force a renter out of a property if they're past their lease. The issue with that is the Goonies believe money will allow them to stay in their homes, and money isn't necessarily a fix to being forced out of a rental property. It's not your property. So a big collection of 'rich stuff' wouldn't help everyone in that case. Things change at the end when Mikey finds the jewels in his marble bag. Seeing these jewels, his dad, Irving, rips up the Perkins' contract, and all is right with the world. Is it though? Here's where my childhood perception flipped the other way. When I was younger, I never thought one bag of jewels was enough to save everyone. One bag of jewels for 50 homes? They left so many other valuables on One-Eyed Willy's ship. Now, though, I do think this makes more sense. Brand jokes at the beginning of the movie that his dad would need his next 400 paychecks to pay off their debt. That's about a year's worth. Let's say Mr. Walsh makes, and therefore owes due to Brand's math, $50,000 a year. That's above average for 1985 but covers the highs and lows of this hypothetical. Fifty homes at $50,000 a year is $2.5 million. That seems like a lot, but Mikey kept at least 10 or so high-end jewels. I've seen enough movies to know those can be worth millions each. He could have over $10 million in jewels there, depending on quality and clarity. And assuming they can find a buyer. You never think of these things as a child. You don't care who owns what, rents from whom, or whatever. The jewels were valuable, the Goonies won, and everyone got to keep their homes. But going down these roads can be dangerous. For example, once I'd come to terms with the jewel thing, I started thinking about the fact that there's even more gold and jewels on a pirate ship, which is now just randomly floating in the ocean without anyone who has a legal claim to it. You don't think someone is going to have the idea to grab a boat and head out there? What happens if multiple people go? Does it belong to the city? A descendant of Willy? The Goonies because they found it? We don't know. Look, I fully admit I'm being overly annoying and nitpicky here. I know it. The fact is, it was the 1980s, we all had a nice, general sense of the conflict the Goonies were trying to solve, and that's all that mattered. But, as an adult, when you've watched a movie this many times, questions get raised. Discussions are had. And even if those seem to work against the movie, you have to appreciate you're still thinking this much about it 40 years after its release. The Goonies is currently streaming on HBO Max, and Warner Bros. is reportedly developing a sequel. Maybe it'll explain what the heck was happening in Astoria in 1985 that everyone suddenly went broke, or who claimed that pirate booty.
Scottish Sun
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Iconic 80s movie star looks unrecognizable 40 years after hit movie
The former child actor now has a very different job CHUNK TO HUNK Iconic 80s movie star looks unrecognizable as he steps out in LA 40 years after smash hit movie – do you recognise him? ICONIC 80s movie star Jeff Cohen looked totally unrecognizable this week as he stepped out in Los Angeles. Best known for playing Chunk, the beloved truffle-shuffler from the 1985 Spielberg-produced hit, The Goonies, Cohen looked world's away from his onscreen persona. Advertisement 6 Jeff looks unrecognizable from his Goonies days Credit: BackGrid 6 The former child star says that his career stopped when he went through puberty Credit: BackGrid 6 The Goonies will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year Credit: Alamy 6 Jeff's played Chunk in the iconic film Credit: Alamy Now 50, the one-time child star currently works as a successful entertainment lawyer. Dressed in a suit jacket, jeans, and a maroon fedora, Jeff was a far cry from the ice cream-obsessed, Hawaii-shirt-wearing-mischief-maker he played as a kid. Before leaving acting behind, Cohen appeared in hit TV shows like Family Ties, The Facts of Life, and Webster, but he says it was puberty that ended his Hollywood dream. "There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role, you saw the same people at the audition," Jeff once shared. Advertisement Read more in Celebrity SO FINE! '80s singer known for hit song looks completely different in rare LA outing "It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn't get roles any more." He added: "It was terrible. My first love was acting, but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up." Cohen, who studied at UC Berkeley and later went to UCLA School of Law, co-founded Cohen Gardner LLP in 2002. Despite his fame as a child, he says clients have no problem taking him seriously. Advertisement "My clients get a kick out of the fact their lawyer is Chunk. They dig it," he said. "With my job, I'm dealing with legitimately famous people, so it's just silly and fun. "I'm usually only the fifth most famous person in the room at any one time." Cohen's memories of making The Goonies remain vivid. "It was great," he recalled. "For me, the best part about it was Richard Donner the director. He was big on letting the kids be kids and I think that's one of the reasons the movie stands up today." Advertisement He continued: "People still watch the movie themselves or watch it with their own kids. Even though it's very eighties in the fashions, it's still kids being kids. "Richard Donner wanted us to improvise, talk over each other, push and shove and kind of do our thing. The Goonies Andy actress Kerri Green is unrecognisable 37 years after the movie "I think that's one of the reasons people like it. It doesn't seem like kids acting. It's just kids being themselves, which Richard really encouraged. He wanted us to be comfortable." Recalling one particular moment with Donner, Jeff said: "In the scene where Sloth picks me up while I'm strapped to a chair, I was told he wasn't going to pick me up because John Matuszak's back hurt. Advertisement "But of course, John was so strong it was nothing to him, so he just picked me up and kissed me. My shock and horror was real. I wasn't that good an actor – that was actual terror on my face." Earlier this year, Jeff reunited with his co-stars to celebrate fellow Goonie Ke Huy Quan, who played Data, as he was honored at the TCL Chinese Theater. Cohen, along with Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Kerri Green, and screenwriter Chris Columbus turned out to support Quan, who won an Oscar last year for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jeff, now Ke Huy Quan's entertainment lawyer, gave his friend a proud bear hug as the group relived their childhood memories on the red carpet. Advertisement 6 The cast got together to celebrate Ke Huy Quan Credit: Reuters
The Sun
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Iconic 80s movie star looks unrecognizable as he steps out in LA 40 years after smash hit movie – do you recognise him?
ICONIC 80s movie star Jeff Cohen looked totally unrecognizable this week as he stepped out in Los Angeles. Best known for playing Chunk, the beloved truffle-shuffler from the 1985 Spielberg -produced hit, The Goonies, Cohen looked world's away from his onscreen persona. 6 6 6 Now 50, the one-time child star currently works as a successful entertainment lawyer. Dressed in a suit jacket, jeans, and a maroon fedora, Jeff was a far cry from the ice cream-obsessed, Hawaii-shirt-wearing-mischief-maker he played as a kid. Before leaving acting behind, Cohen appeared in hit TV shows like Family Ties, The Facts of Life, and Webster, but he says it was puberty that ended his Hollywood dream. "There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role, you saw the same people at the audition," Jeff once shared. "It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn't get roles any more." He added: "It was terrible. My first love was acting, but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up." Cohen, who studied at UC Berkeley and later went to UCLA School of Law, co-founded Cohen Gardner LLP in 2002. Despite his fame as a child, he says clients have no problem taking him seriously. "My clients get a kick out of the fact their lawyer is Chunk. They dig it," he said. "With my job, I'm dealing with legitimately famous people, so it's just silly and fun. "I'm usually only the fifth most famous person in the room at any one time." Cohen's memories of making The Goonies remain vivid. "It was great," he recalled. "For me, the best part about it was Richard Donner the director. He was big on letting the kids be kids and I think that's one of the reasons the movie stands up today." He continued: "People still watch the movie themselves or watch it with their own kids. Even though it's very eighties in the fashions, it's still kids being kids. "Richard Donner wanted us to improvise, talk over each other, push and shove and kind of do our thing. "I think that's one of the reasons people like it. It doesn't seem like kids acting. It's just kids being themselves, which Richard really encouraged. He wanted us to be comfortable." Recalling one particular moment with Donner, Jeff said: "In the scene where Sloth picks me up while I'm strapped to a chair, I was told he wasn't going to pick me up because John Matuszak's back hurt. "But of course, John was so strong it was nothing to him, so he just picked me up and kissed me. My shock and horror was real. I wasn't that good an actor – that was actual terror on my face." Earlier this year, Jeff reunited with his co-stars to celebrate fellow Goonie Ke Huy Quan, who played Data, as he was honored at the TCL Chinese Theater. Cohen, along with Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Kerri Green, and screenwriter Chris Columbus turned out to support Quan, who won an Oscar last year for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jeff, now Ke Huy Quan's entertainment lawyer, gave his friend a proud bear hug as the group relived their childhood memories on the red carpet. 6 6
The Irish Sun
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Iconic 80s movie star looks unrecognizable as he steps out in LA 40 years after smash hit movie – do you recognise him?
ICONIC 80s movie star Jeff Cohen looked totally unrecognizable this week as he stepped out in Los Angeles. Best known for playing Chunk, the beloved truffle-shuffler from the 1985 6 Jeff looks unrecognizable from his Goonies days Credit: BackGrid 6 The former child star says that his career stopped when he went through puberty Credit: BackGrid 6 The Goonies will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year Credit: Alamy 6 Jeff's played Chunk in the iconic film Credit: Alamy Now 50, the one-time child star currently works as a successful entertainment lawyer. Dressed in a suit jacket, jeans, and a maroon fedora, Jeff was a far cry from the ice cream-obsessed, Hawaii-shirt-wearing-mischief-maker he played as a kid. Before leaving acting behind, Cohen appeared in hit TV shows like Family Ties, The Facts of Life, and Webster, but he says it was puberty that ended his Hollywood dream. "There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role, you saw the same people at the audition," Jeff once shared. Read more in Celebrity "It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn't get roles any more." He added: "It was terrible. My first love was acting, but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up." Cohen, who studied at UC Berkeley and later went to UCLA School of Law, co-founded Cohen Gardner LLP in 2002. Despite his fame as a child, he says clients have no problem taking him seriously. Most read in Celebrity "My clients get a kick out of the fact their lawyer is Chunk. They dig it," he said. "With my job, I'm dealing with legitimately famous people, so it's just silly and fun. "I'm usually only the fifth most famous person in the room at any one time." Cohen's memories of making The Goonies remain vivid. "It was great," he recalled. "For me, the best part about it was Richard Donner the director. He was big on letting the kids be kids and I think that's one of the reasons the movie stands up today." He continued: "People still watch the movie themselves or watch it with their own kids. Even though it's very eighties in the fashions, it's still kids being kids. "Richard Donner wanted us to improvise, talk over each other, push and shove and kind of do our thing. The Goonies Andy actress Kerri Green is unrecognisable 37 years after the movie "I think that's one of the reasons people like it. It doesn't seem like kids acting. It's just kids being themselves, which Richard really encouraged. He wanted us to be comfortable." Recalling one particular moment with Donner, Jeff said: "In the scene where Sloth picks me up while I'm strapped to a chair, I was told he wasn't going to pick me up because John Matuszak's back hurt. "But of course, John was so strong it was nothing to him, so he just picked me up and kissed me. My shock and horror was real. I wasn't that good an actor – that was actual terror on my face." Earlier this year, Jeff reunited with his co-stars to celebrate fellow Goonie Ke Huy Quan, who played Data, as he was honored at the TCL Chinese Theater. Cohen, along with Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Kerri Green, and screenwriter Chris Columbus turned out to support Quan, who won an Oscar last year for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jeff, now Ke Huy Quan's entertainment lawyer, gave his friend a proud bear hug as the group relived their childhood memories on the red carpet. 6 The cast got together to celebrate Ke Huy Quan Credit: Reuters 6 Jeff spoke fondly about director Richard Donner's approach to working with kids Credit: Getty
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Iconic star of The Goonies steps out on rare outing ahead of 40th anniversary of the film
The Goonies fans got a surprise this week when one of the film's most beloved stars stepped out in Beverly Hills—just in time for the 40th anniversary of the iconic adventure. Now 50 and working as an entertainment lawyer, former actor Jeff Cohen rose to fame playing the clumsy but lovable Chunk in the 1985 cult classic produced by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. Sporting a sharp suit jacket, stylish jeans, and a maroon fedora, the 80s icon looked worlds away from the disheveled, ice cream-obsessed teen who once stole scenes hunting pirate treasure. His fit figure was also a far cry from his younger self—best remembered for the unforgettable Truffle Shuffle, a belly-jiggling dance that became a pop culture staple. After The Goonies, he appeared on Family Ties and had a stint on Amazing Stories before stepping away from acting. In 2015, Jeff revealed how losing his puppy fat was the end of his acting career. The lawyer was forced to quit Hollywood for good when he could no longer put himself forward for the 'fat kid roles.' 'There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role you saw the same people at the audition,' he said. 'It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn't get roles any more.' Jeff continued: 'It was terrible. My first love was acting but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up.' Nowadays, Jeff is a partner at the law firm he co-founded in 2002, Cohen Gardner LLP. Now 50 and working as an entertainment lawyer, the former actor rose to fame playing the clumsy but lovable Chunk in the 1985 cult classic produced by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin , and Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan Asked whether he ever worried that his child star past would make potential clients take him less seriously, he said: 'My clients get a kick out of the fact their lawyer is Chunk. They dig it. With my job, I'm dealing with legitimately famous people, so it's just silly and fun. I'm usually only the fifth most famous person in the room at any one time.' Describing himself as 'goofy, chubby and something of a clown,' the LA native had small parts in US television shows like Webster, The Facts of Life, and Family Ties before landing the role of Chunk in The Goonies when he was just 10. 'It was great,' Cohen - born McMahon - said. 'For me, the best part about it was Richard Donner the director. He was big on letting the kids be kids and I think that's one of the reasons the movie stands up today.' The UC Berkeley grad continued: 'People still watch the movie themselves or watch it with their own kids. Even though it's very eighties in the fashions it's still kids being kids. Richard Donner wanted us to improvise, talk over each other, push and shove and kind of do our thing. 'I think that's one of the reasons people like it. It doesn't seem like kids acting. It's just kids being themselves, which Richard really encouraged. He wanted us to be comfortable.' The late filmmaker encouraged his young cast to improvise. 'He would throw little surprises at us during shooting because he wanted to get our real reactions,' Jeff recalled. 'In the scene where Sloth picks me up while I'm strapped to a chair, I was told he wasn't going to pick me up because John Matuszak's back hurt. But of course John was so strong it was nothing to him, so he just picked me up and kissed me. My shock and horror was real. I wasn't that good an actor – that was actual terror on my face.' In February, the Goonies gang proved that their bond remains as unbreakable as ever, gathering at the TLC Chinese Theater to celebrate Ke Huy Quan—who brought the hilarious Data to life in Richard Donner's iconic adventure. Brolin (Brand), Feldman (Mouth), Cohen (Chunk), Kerri Green (Andy), and screenwriter Chris Columbus hit the red carpet in high spirits, soaking up the chance to share laughs and snap nostalgic pics with Quan. The camaraderie was undeniable, with each cast member wrapping Quan in warm hugs, and Cohen—now his entertainment lawyer—delivering an especially proud bear hug. Though Sean Astin (Mikey) couldn't be there in person, he's already reunited with Quan on-screen, appearing in his latest film Love Hurts—proof that the Goonies spirit is as strong as ever in Hollywood. The ceremony itself honored Quan for his incredible career, which began at just 12 years old in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and most recently culminated in his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. As the reunion sparked even more Goonies nostalgia, fans couldn't help but wonder: Could there ever be another adventure for the gang? Every few months, whispers of a sequel surface, only to be quickly shut down by the original cast—most recently, in September. A report claimed that The Goonies 2 would be filmed next summer with many of the original cast returning, but actors such as Feldman and Martha Plimpton shut down the report. 'People, there is no 'Goonies 2' script, there is no one "attached,"' Plimpton wrote on Instagram. '[Steven] Spielberg is not directing, it's not real.' she added. Feldman said at the time that he had 'no information' whatsoever that a sequel was in development. The last time the Goonies sequel buzz truly gained traction was back in 2014, when Variety reported that director Donner was attempting to reunite the original cast for The Goonies 2. At the time, Astin was incredibly optimistic, declaring, 'The Goonies 2 will happen,' and adding, 'I'm 1,000% certain there will be a sequel. I will bet my children on it.' Sadly, Donner passed away in 2021 at the age of 91, and with him went any hope of that reunion becoming a reality. As for Cohen, in 2015, he revealed how losing his puppy fat was the end of his acting career. The former child star - who is now a successful entertainment lawyer - was forced to quit Hollywood for good when he could no longer put himself forward for the 'fat kid roles.' 'There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role you saw the same people at the audition,' the 40-year-old attorney said. 'It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn't get roles any more.' Jeff continued: 'It was terrible. My first love was acting but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up.' Astin would go on to star in Rudy in 1993 and played the great hobbit Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001 to 2003. The actor also starred in the second season of Stranger Things and made a brief appearance in the third episode in the first season. Josh' most recent success is in the Academy Award-winning adaptation of Dune (2021) and in Dune: Part Two (2024), starring as Gurney Halleck Before his role as Mouth, Corey already inched his way into Hollywood as a child star and appeared in Stand by Me (1986) and The Lost Boys (1987) The Goonies catapulted Brolin into Hollywood and after his stint in the classic film he went on to star in No Country for Old Men in 2007. He was nominated for an Oscar for Milk in 2008, starred in Inherent Vice in 2015 and Hail, Caesar! in 2016. A few years later, Josh turned his attention to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred as the warlord Thanos in the Avengers film series. Josh' most recent success is in the Academy Award-winning adaptation of Dune (2021) and in Dune: Part Two (2024), starring as Gurney Halleck. Before his role as Mouth, Corey already inched his way into Hollywood as a child star and appeared in Stand by Me (1986) and The Lost Boys (1987). Reflecting on his time on The Goonies, Corey said at the 2013 reunion: 'It was like we had the coolest set on the lot. 'Harrison Ford came and walked the caves with us. We felt like we were in Indiana Jones.' Corey released a documentary in 2020 about the sexual abuse he endured as a child actor in the 1980s. The 53-year-old has proven to be quite the Hollywood darling following his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once She has since gone on to appear in an array of films and movies including Raising Hope and Parenthood Martha was 15 when she appeared in the 1985 classic The Goonies. She has since gone on to appear in an array of films and movies including Raising Hope and Parenthood. Plimpton grew up engulfed in showbiz. Her grandfather was John Carradine and both her parents (Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton) are actors. She is also on the board of directors of A is For, a charity which seeks to advance 'women's reproductive rights and end the stigma on abortion care'. Kerri, 57, was 17-years-old when she played cheerleader Andy and now runs a production company. In the 1980s, Kerri appeared in Summer Rental (1985), Lucas (1986), and Three for the Road (1987). She also appeared on TV shows including In the Heat of the Night, ER, Mad About You, and Law & Order: SVU. Before she started running her own production company, the last film she was in was 2012's Complacent. The beloved Goonies centers on a group of kids who stumble upon a long-lost treasure map and embark on a daring quest to find the fortune of the notorious pirate One-Eyed Willy—only to be chased by a family of criminals intent on stealing the treasure for themselves. Produced by Spielberg, the film became an instant classic and remains a staple of 80s cinema. The Goonies may never die, but it seems that, for now, the treasure hunt will remain a part of the past.
