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Another day, another TV movie, but like “The She Creature”, most people from my neck of the woods have only seen this Stephen King miniseries on video. And also like “The She Creature”, it happens to be very good entertainment, if a tad long in the tooth.
Based on one of Stephen King’s most popular books, the film begins in (where else?) the small town of Derry, and centres around a group of young local outcasts, who like my High school acquaintances and I, seem to stick together simply because no one else likes ‘em, hence the name ’The Losers Club’. But they are indeed tight friends and they need be, given they are all being tormented by a monstrous killer that uses the guise of a sadistically teasing clown named Pennywise. The kids eventually rid themselves of ’IT’, but some 30 years later, it appears ’IT’ may be back. Question is, can the now separated former best friends all come together once again?
The coming-of-age story itself is pretty irresistible, especially if you’re a fan of “Stand By Me”. One of the major strengths of the film is its young cast, whose characters are clearly identifiable from one another and very engaging indeed. Special mention must be made of the late Jonathan Brandis (I just can’t figure out why he ended his own life) as the film’s early embodiment of main character Bill, the writer, whose younger brother Georgie falls victim to the child-murdering harlequin of the local childrens’ nightmares. Richard Thomas plays the stuttering Bill as an adult. Seth Green can also be seen here, as the young Richie, the resident funny man of the group. Green is great, playing the role in a truly unique way, and making the not-all-that-funny Richie a lot more tolerable than he might’ve been in another’s hands. He grows up to be Harry ‘Annoying Magician-Comic Guest Star from SNL’ Anderson, and the B-grade comedian couldn’t be more perfectly suited to the role. If, like me you were a fan of TV’s “The Wonder Years”, you’ll probably recognise portly Brandon Crane as the resident fat kid of the group, Ben. As an adult, he’s played as a boozer by the late John Ritter.
However, the real reason to see this is for the film’s take on the character of Pennywise. As played by the great (and extremely versatile) Tim Curry, Pennywise is Machiavellian, monstrous, broadly funny (Excuuussee me, do you have Prince Albert in a Can?), and a wholly memorable character. Curry’s performance is possibly even his best-ever, he’s over-the-top as per usual, but he certainly can’t be accused of not trying. And who can attest to not having chills up their spine when Curry’s Pennywise remarks ‘Oh yes…They Float….’.
The horror aspect of the film is really only going to be effective if, like me, you have a fear of clowns (In addition to my fear of people wearing seemingly-innocent face masks, thunderstorms, sudden loud noises, spiders, snakes, heights, public speaking, fear of rejection,…basically, I’m Bill Murray in “What About Bob?” mixed with Woody Allen. Did I mention I‘m allergic to balloons? Yup, this flick‘s tailor-made for me). It's pretty much TV movie fare otherwise, though there are some great 'boo' moments here and there.
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