BEEP, BEEP, RICHIE!You know, I don't think there's a person in my age bracket who hasn't seen the TV miniseries version of Stephen King's "It." Its 1990 premiere was a major, major deal that EVERYONE in my first grade class was talking about. Yeah, all of us were way too young to even THINK about picking up the mammoth 1,000+ page novel that the movie was based on, but damn near all of us knew who Stephen King was - the guy who delivered all the scary stuff that we were banned from watching. Somehow or another, a large percentage of the people in that AFOREMENTIONED first grade class found their way to a hidden TV on those two 1990 nights.
A bit of background information first before we get to the meat of the story. The novel "It" was released in 1986, during the absolute peak of Stephen King's collectibility and popularity. It was the longest novel he had ever sent forth to the public (until being surpassed by the uncut version of The Stand five years later), and based on the critical blurbs and the overwhelming fan response, It is most definitely some book. Taking place over two separate time frames and encompassing a large set of very likable, very distinct hero characters going up against an ultimate evil force, it's damn near horror perfection.
The miniseries was both a critical and financial success, pulling in mammoth ratings and massive residuals to this day. Hell, it still shows up on ABC Family (of all channels) once in a while. Most importantly, it scared the living daylights out of me back then and still has scenes that me and a loyal group of acquaintances quote to this day.
"It" is the story of the town of Derry, Maine, and the very, very bad things that lurk in its underbelly. The flick starts with the death of a little girl at the hands of a creepy clown, prompting Mike Hanlon (Tim Reid) to call six seemingly random people across the United States with a mere two-word message: "It's back."
The more engaging material in the film occurs in background segments that give us the childhoods of these characters, and explain the meaning of the phone calls. This section (which interweaves with the present-day 1990 story) takes place 30 years earlier, and we meet our kid protagonists. Nice guy Bill Denbrough (Jonathan Brandis, played in present-day form by John Boy Walton himself), sensitive, chubby Ben "Haystack" Hanscom (young version: Brandon Crane, older version: John freakin' Ritter), practical joker Richie Tozier (young version: Seth Green, older version: Harry Anderson), cute girl with an abusive father Beverly Marsh (young version: Emily Perkins, older version: Annette O'Toole), and hypochondriac Eddie Kaspbrak (young version: Adam Fairazl, older version: Dennis Christopher) are all recognizable, distinct, and likable people who instantly form a connection with the audience. Their situation is all the more relatable, as the group forms a unit called, appropriately enough, "the Losers' Club," as victims of a group of bully greasers led by the very dick-ish Henry Bowers (Jarred Blancard, who plays the young version, is extraordinary as this dislikable prick).
Across both timelines, the storyline is essentially the same - murders are happening at an alarming rate, and when the mysterious deaths - always accompanied by a grinning, horrifying clown who calls himself Pennywise - begin threatening the Losers' club, the group bands together to face the ancient evil entity on its own grounds. After succeeding in 1960, Bill - the leader of the group - makes the other members promise that if It ever comes back, they will return to Derry and destroy the force once and for all. Hence the phone calls.
There's your story, folks. But the thing that makes "It" hit home is its villain. Tim Curry takes the duties of playing Pennywise, and in an Internet world where all-encompassing blanket statements are the norm, nobody will ever be able to top him. He's scary, yeah, but he's also funny and memorable. It's hard to find fault with the guy who played both Dr. Frank-N-Further and Mr. Boddy, but this guy's awesomeness is practically universal. Every scene that Pennywise appears is a home run, and he scared the ever living CRAP out of me as a kid watching the mayhem unfold on ABC.
Which brings me to Point B regarding this whole manifesto - we're getting a remake of "Carrie." One that will be "truer to the novel" than the original Brian De Palma film, despite the fact that almost everyone agrees that the 1976 film is FINE the way it is, changes and all. We're also getting another re-adaptation of "It" at some point. I don't know if it promises to be "truer to the novel," but the changes that this film made from the novel were ALL for the better. If you want an example, the novel contains a completely out-of-nowhere orgy scene between the child versions of the main characters. No, I'm not joking. Google it.
And perhaps the most important reason why another version of "It" would suck - if done today, the "past" segments of the film would take place in 1981. I have nothing against 1981, but that's just depressing.
So there we have it. While lacking the polish of a big-budget theatrical film, the miniseries version of "It" is an awesome movie, with likable characters, a menacing villain, and a nice, evenly-balanced flowing narrative serving as the lynchpin of the action. Par for the course with a lot of IHR inductions, it's also a movie with strong sentimental value for this writer, and remains one of the better Stephen King adaptations out there.
Oh, and one more thing...
Beep beep, indeed.
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