The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough

Categories: The Spotlight|Published On: June 4, 2025|Views: 47|

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Every kid dreams of going on a grand adventure, of finding lost treasure, and discovering hidden worlds. So, when The Goonies arrived in theaters 40 years ago on June 7, 1985, it didn’t take long for the adventure film to become a modern classic.

In the movie, a group of preteen and teenage kids find a treasure map that takes them on an adventure in the tunnels beneath their town. As they hunt for the treasure and avoid getting seriously injured by booby traps, the kids must also evade a criminal family who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the pirate One-Eyed Willy’s gold.

The iconic adventure film was accompanied by its own anthem, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper. The pop sensation had torn up the charts two years earlier with her hit song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Recognizing that she had her finger on the pulse of youth culture, The Goonies executive producer Steven Spielberg hired her to be the musical director for the movie’s soundtrack. To give the soundtrack the right vibe and appeal to the younger demographic, she sought new, fresh talent like The Bangles, a pre-Toto Joseph Williams, and the Goon Squad, with some well known acts like REO Speedwagon and Luther Vandross.

Lauper wrote “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” with Stephen Broughton Lunt and Arthur Stead, which was originally titled “Good Enough” until Warner Bros. added the movie title. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at No. 45 in May ’85 and was up to No. 10 by mid-July.

Since the song was helping to push their film, Warner Bros. wanted a special music video that would play in heavy rotation on channels like MTV. The Goonies director Richard Donner directed a two-part, 12-minute long video that featured not just Lauper, but also several members of the movie cast and a bunch of professional wrestlers.

The first part was released on May 7, 1985, a month before the movie. In it, Lauper is working at her parents’ gas station when creditors (Roddy Piper, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Freddie Blassie) come to evict them. As her mom and dad (Lou Albano) argue with them, an old woman (The Fabulous Moolah) shuts down the vegetable stand where her friend Wendi (Wendi Richter) works, and opens a restaurant. Lauper finds a picture while packing that shows the cavern and once there, she discovers a treasure map and meets the Goonies (Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Martha Plimpton, and Jeff Cohen).

Then they come face to face with pirates (the creditors in new costumes) who capture the Goonies while Lauper gets away. Eventually, she is trapped on a log bridge by the pirates and a green-faced witch. Breaking the fourth wall, Lauper yells “Steven Spielberg, how do I get out of this one?” Spielberg is then shown in the editing room and realizes that he doesn’t have an answer, so the video ends on a cliffhanger.

The second part debuted when the movie opened on June 7, with Lauper and the Goonies being taken onto the pirate ship. They are forced to cook food while the pirates, the witch, and a new group of pirates (played by the Bangles) party. Lauper and the Goonies break free, meet up with her friends Wendi and Dave who came to look for her, and flee from the pirates.

Lauper and her friends managed to grab some treasure before fleeing and make their way back to the gas station. She offers it to the creditors who refuse, so Lauper whistles and from a cloud of smoke, out steps Andre the Giant. He chases them away and Piper calls out to Donner and Spielberg, yelling that “the video wasn’t supposed to end like this” as Andre chases him away.

The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough

Categories: The Spotlight|Published On: June 4, 2025|Views: 47|

Share:

Every kid dreams of going on a grand adventure, of finding lost treasure, and discovering hidden worlds. So, when The Goonies arrived in theaters 40 years ago on June 7, 1985, it didn’t take long for the adventure film to become a modern classic.

In the movie, a group of preteen and teenage kids find a treasure map that takes them on an adventure in the tunnels beneath their town. As they hunt for the treasure and avoid getting seriously injured by booby traps, the kids must also evade a criminal family who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the pirate One-Eyed Willy’s gold.

The iconic adventure film was accompanied by its own anthem, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper. The pop sensation had torn up the charts two years earlier with her hit song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Recognizing that she had her finger on the pulse of youth culture, The Goonies executive producer Steven Spielberg hired her to be the musical director for the movie’s soundtrack. To give the soundtrack the right vibe and appeal to the younger demographic, she sought new, fresh talent like The Bangles, a pre-Toto Joseph Williams, and the Goon Squad, with some well known acts like REO Speedwagon and Luther Vandross.

Lauper wrote “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” with Stephen Broughton Lunt and Arthur Stead, which was originally titled “Good Enough” until Warner Bros. added the movie title. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at No. 45 in May ’85 and was up to No. 10 by mid-July.

Since the song was helping to push their film, Warner Bros. wanted a special music video that would play in heavy rotation on channels like MTV. The Goonies director Richard Donner directed a two-part, 12-minute long video that featured not just Lauper, but also several members of the movie cast and a bunch of professional wrestlers.

The first part was released on May 7, 1985, a month before the movie. In it, Lauper is working at her parents’ gas station when creditors (Roddy Piper, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Freddie Blassie) come to evict them. As her mom and dad (Lou Albano) argue with them, an old woman (The Fabulous Moolah) shuts down the vegetable stand where her friend Wendi (Wendi Richter) works, and opens a restaurant. Lauper finds a picture while packing that shows the cavern and once there, she discovers a treasure map and meets the Goonies (Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Martha Plimpton, and Jeff Cohen).

Then they come face to face with pirates (the creditors in new costumes) who capture the Goonies while Lauper gets away. Eventually, she is trapped on a log bridge by the pirates and a green-faced witch. Breaking the fourth wall, Lauper yells “Steven Spielberg, how do I get out of this one?” Spielberg is then shown in the editing room and realizes that he doesn’t have an answer, so the video ends on a cliffhanger.

The second part debuted when the movie opened on June 7, with Lauper and the Goonies being taken onto the pirate ship. They are forced to cook food while the pirates, the witch, and a new group of pirates (played by the Bangles) party. Lauper and the Goonies break free, meet up with her friends Wendi and Dave who came to look for her, and flee from the pirates.

Lauper and her friends managed to grab some treasure before fleeing and make their way back to the gas station. She offers it to the creditors who refuse, so Lauper whistles and from a cloud of smoke, out steps Andre the Giant. He chases them away and Piper calls out to Donner and Spielberg, yelling that “the video wasn’t supposed to end like this” as Andre chases him away.