The Goonies 'R' Good Enough

"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as a single for The Goonies, a 1985 film which was released around the same time as the single. It was her fifth Top 10 single on the Hot 100, her first since "Money Changes Everything".

A rarity

Before its inclusion on The Essential Cyndi Lauper in 2003, the song never appeared on any of Lauper's albums or the 1994 compilation Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some. Lauper admitted in an interview with Matthew Rettenmund that she hated the song, which was why she had chosen not to include it on her first compilation.^[1]

All versions of the UK edition are considered rare, especially the 12".

The song has been covered by a few artists, such as Bombones, Haruko Momoi, The Advantage, New Found Glory, and Tomoyuki Uchida. The song was featured in several iterations of Konami's Goonies video games, most notably the popular NES game Goonies II. It was also featured as an instrumental version in Pop'n Music 10.

Steven Spielberg had made Cyndi the musical director for The Goonies soundtrack. She sought out new bands to be included on the project including her friends, The Bangles.

Cyndi refused to play the song live after 1986. She finally incorporated it back into her live show during several dates in Australia in 2004. Fans kept requesting the song and Cyndi eventually sang the first verse and chorus a cappella. She has since incorporated the song back into her live set, due to overwhelming fan recognition.

Music video

There was also a two-part video shot for this song featuring World Wrestling Federation pro-wrestlers André the Giant, Captain Lou Albano, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Wendy Richter, The Fabulous Moolah, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Freddie Blassie; Steven Spielberg; The Goonies cast (except for Kerri Green, Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi and John Matuszak); and the then relatively unknown Bangles as a group of female pirates. Lauper's mother appears as "Cyndi's mother" and the "sea hag".

According to Cyndi Lauper, filming the music video was less than an enjoyable experience. Richard Donner, apparently, was a pushy director and wanted things done a certain way and forced Lauper to keep going, even when she was exhausted. In a behind-the-scenes documentary of the video, the viewer can see Donner being pushy and doing lots of takes on scenes.

Part 1 of the video debuted on MTV before The Goonies opened in theaters and Part 2 premiered on MTV after the movie opened. On the DVD of The Goonies, both parts have been spliced together to form one video with no chapter change in the middle of the two. Part 1 of the music video had an extended version released in Japan. The version included more commentary from the voice over during the opening sequence of the video and extended scenes inside the gas station and with the wrestlers.

Both parts of the video are included as a bonus feature on the DVD release of The Goonies. The first part of the video almost did not make it on the DVD. According to sources, Warner was unable to locate a decent print of Part 1 and was only going to use Part 2 for the DVD release, but someone at VH1 found an unused tape of the video and they digitized it for the DVD just in time.^[2]

Plot

Cyndi Lauper's character, referred to only as Cyndi, works at her parents' gas station, along with her friends Dave and Wendy. Cyndi's Mom is baking cookies for gas station customers, and Wendy operates a vegetable stand outside the station. A group of creditors shows up to evict them and take over the station. While they argue with Mom and Pop, an old woman shows up and closes down Wendy's vegetable stand, putting in a Benihana-like set-up in its place. While packing, Cyndi removes a picture from the wall, which reveals the entrance to an underground cavern. Searching through the cave, Cyndi finds a treasure map, and then encounters the Goonies (minus the character of Andy), who also have a copy of the map.

Soon after, they encounter a group of pirates (who look just like the creditors, though it is never said if they are the same people as the creditors), and a supposed green-faced witch. Cyndi runs away as the Goonies are captured by the pirates. Running through the caverns, she encounters several skeletons, and even some chefs who seem to work for the restaurant Benihana. Cyndi eventually finds herself trapped between the pirates and the green-faced witch on a log-bridge. Unsure what to do, she cries out: "Steven Spielberg, how do I get out of this one?" Strangely enough, the scene cuts to Spielberg in an editing room (he seems to be editing the video as it is happening). Spielberg stops the editing machine and begins to give a solution, before realizing that he doesn't know how to help Cyndi.

Cyndi, along with the Goonies, is captured and taken aboard a pirate ship. The pirates, along with the green-faced witch and some female pirates, party, while forcing the Goonies and Cyndi to prepare food for them. Also of note, is that Dave and Wendy (who had also gone into the cave to look for Cyndi) have also been captured (how they were captured is unknown), and tied to the mast of the ship. Eventually, Cyndi, Dave, Wendy, and the Goonies break free, and after finding some treasure on the ship, toss some of it to the pirates, who fight amongst themselves for it. After subduing the green-faced witch, the Goonies escape from the ship along with Cyndi and her friends, giving her the remaining treasure that they found.

Cyndi, along with Dave and Wendy, return through the cavern entrance in the gas station, armed with the extra treasure in hopes of appeasing the creditors. Despite all the treasure she offers, they still refuse. Cyndi then whistles, and in a cloud of smoke, Andre the Giant appears, and chases the creditors off. The family then celebrates their good fortune as the story draws to a close.

Charts

Certifications

Official versions and track listings

1. Album Version
2. Dance Re-Mix
3. Dub Version
4. Single Version
5. Hot Tracks Ultimix by Bradley D. Hinkle (Found on 4-8 of the Hot Tracks series)

References