Being hailed as a new generation’s Stand By Me, the film Yosemite which was honored or appeared at a number of festivals because of course it did, looks like a watered down version of the rough outline of Rob Reiner’s classic tale of boyhood bonds. I don’t know if boys the age of these characters care about movies like this, and anyone who’s seeing it to relive the sweet joy of being a male child has no doubt already seen Stand By Me.
Three boys who look the same wander on a train track, whisper to themselves, hug their fathers, run through fields, look up at the sky. It’s wonderful and those are all special parts of being a child but my patience for young boy coming-of-age films petered out with Kings of Summer.
Aside from a cool coat worn by a boy being picked up by James Franco, who also wrote the collection of short stories the film is based on, it doesn’t look like there’s a lot going on in this film except the usual existential troubles of writers trying to hang on to youth. At least the one plus is there’s a female director.