Stephen King’s It
Although it was a made-for-TV movie adaptation of King’s iconic novel (soon to be re-adapted for the big screen soon), “It” has always been a personal favorite of mine in the genre. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that it centers around friendship. “The Loser’s Club” is a group of seven friends from Derry, Maine who, when they were kids in 1960, fought and seemingly destroyed a powerful, evil force in the guise of a clown (Pennywise, played by Tim Curry in a haunting portrait of evil) who was responsible for several child deaths in the town.
Thirty years later, it’s come back. Only one of the gang- Mike Hanlon (Tim Reid from “WKRP in Cincinnati”) has stayed; the others have gone off to celebrated careers and lives, and have forgotten (or repressed) the events of the summer they fought Pennywise. Back then, they made a promise if it ever returned. Mike- unnerved by the new spree- makes calls to the old gang. But will they come back? More importantly, will they be able to do the same thing twice?
Part I of this 3-hour miniseries deals with the calls made to the gang, which shows them remembering the events of their childhood, and more importantly, their first encounters with Pennywise individually, as well as their first battle with him as a group. The adult members of the “Loser’s Club” are played by character actors and TV stars (with Reid, John Ritter as Ben, and Harry Anderson as Richie, all best known for sitcoms), all of whom show themselves more than capable at drama.
Part of that comes from the tone. Co-writers Lawrence D. Cohen and Tommy Lee Wallace (Wallace of whom directs) are capable of adding a large amount of warmth and humor for the actors to play to. Of course, they have to be believable as long-time friends, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. The wrong people adapting, and the wrong people in the roles, and it would seem out-of-place, even with half the story taking place when they’re kids.
Thankfully, the cast is up to the task- both the adults, and more importantly, the kids (including Seth Green as the young Richie Tozier), who set up the characters beautifully. Bill (played by Richard Thomas) and his stutter, largely brought on by the death of his kid brother George at the hands of Pennywise. Ben and his anger at being picked on for his weight and circumstances. Bev (Annette O’Toole) and her domineering father, setting up a pattern of emotional abuse that’ll follow her into adulthood. Eddie (Dennis Christopher), his asthma, and his over-protective mother. Richie and his sometimes inappropriately-timed humor. Stan and his Boy Scout’s logic and intellect. And Mike and his thirst for knowledge, and interest in history.
As adults, most of them return (on Stan, played by Richard Masur, can’t bring himself to come back), and they find the same ghosts haunting them. As they remember, they start to question whether lightning could possibly strike twice. The return of another childhood menace- Henry Bowers- from a mental institution in Maine, which leads to Mike’s injury and Bowers’ death- causes even more anxiety within the gang.
Admittedly, there’s a lot of cheesiness and cornball sentiment in the film- it doesn’t have the rough edges of other King adaptations “The Shining,” “Cujo,” and “Carrie”- but the film manages a great deal of the kind of suspense and old-school thrills we expect from King and those who bring his stories to life. Pennywise is one of the creepiest horror creations of all-time; not just the clown, but the creature in general, which preys on our most terrifying nightmares and can turn into anything. And it can show up anywhere, as we see in the flashbacks to their youth.
In the end, good triumphs. The evil is destroyed, and even though lives were lost, everyone worked together to do it. Yeah, the end lacks the unsettling morality of “The Shining” (Kubrick’s, not the 1997 miniseries), “Carrie,” and “The Mist,” but for the type of story, it’s a satisfying conclusion to a story that one could see as maybe being near and dear to the author’s heart.
