151. The Goonies (1985) w/ Meghan P. Nolan

Dan, Manny, & Billy invite friend & fan of the pod Meghan P. Nolan to put the 1985 action/adventure comedy The Goonies to the ultimate test—THE NOSTALGIA TEST!

“I had this epiphany while I was watching it this time where I was like, ‘Holy shit! Like Goonies are just like a bunch of nerds, they're all just sitting around playing D&D, Mikey is the dungeon master, and this is their quest.” -Meghan P. Nolan

Around 2 years ago, Meghan sent us a suggestion to put The Goonies to the ultimate test and because Dan is super lazy it took him this long to get her on the pod. This episode is off the rails from the start filled with classic Nostalgia Test drops and a live Zoom audience of one, (haha! it’s a start) Courtney from the Fiction Fixation Podcast who added some hilarious ideas while Billy dealt with his North Carolina internet service. The gang talks about “Goonies” comes from their town name The Goon Docks, what did the parents of these kids do to get all their houses foreclosed on, why was Troy and his flunkies hanging around a wishing well, are the Fratellis really Italian, and who was resetting One Eyed Willie’s booby traps in the 1600s. They also analyze all the amazing characters, unpack the stereotypes, plot holes, and put Cindy Lauper’s song to a quick Nostalgia Test. Most importantly, they talk about the real heroes of this movie Rosalita and Sloth.

This episode is what The Nostalgia Test is all about, laughter, hot takes, and a bunch of hypothetical scenarios for what a Goonies sequel or TV series might look like. This is a must-listen for any fan of 80s classics.

Email us ([e-mail]) your thoughts, opinions, and questions about this episode or anything else nostalgic on your mind and we'll read it for next time on the pod!

 

APPROXIMATE RUN OF SHOW:

00:00 Introduction to the Nostalgia Test Podcast

00:45 Welcoming the Hosts and Guest

01:15 Discussing The Goonies and Nostalgia

02:10 The Goonies' Cultural Impact

04:08 Analyzing Characters and Stereotypes

10:07 Plot Holes and Funny Observations

15:47 The Goonies' Opening Scene and PG Rating

26:51 Music and Product Placement in The Goonies

30:41 Kids' Reactions to The Goonies

31:36 Comparing The Goonies to Other 80s Movies

33:35 Modern Movie Music and Final Thoughts

36:06 Revisiting 'The Goonies': Childhood Memories and Cable TV

37:03 Tree Climbing Adventures and Childhood Mischief

38:24 The Goonies' Treasure Hunt Begins

39:03 Decoding the Pirate Map and Family Dynamics

40:27 The Goonies' Quest: Booby Traps and Town Secrets

42:19 Character Dynamics and 80s Stereotypes

50:14 The Fratelli Family: Villains or Victims?

52:21 Sloth: The Unlikely Hero

56:21 The Goonies' Final Adventure: Treasure and Triumph

01:10:35 Nostalgic Jail Cell Memories

01:11:02 The Idiot Mob in Astoria

01:11:42 Chunk's Hilarious Car Encounter

01:12:22 Goonies Theme Park and Escape Room Ideas

01:14:21 Mikey's Iconic Speech

01:16:02 Speculating on the Goonies Sequel

01:22:25 The Goonies' Legacy and Trivia

01:34:56 Final Thoughts and Nostalgia Test

 

Meghan P. Nolan, MFA, MA, PhD, is an Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Honors program at State University of New York, Rockland. She is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is a multi-genre writer, who focuses on(Neo-)Victorian and Modern literature/ crime writing and fragmented perceptions of self-hood through academic works, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Her book The Crossroads of Crime Writing: Unseen Structures and Uncertain Spaces was published by Anthem Press (March 2024). She is the author of the poetry collection, Stratification (2008) and her poems have been in many literary journals over the years. Recently, her works have been on public display as a part of the “Writing on the Walls” exhibits at the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art (HVMOCA) and she regularly performs her poetry and monologues as a part of productions by both Studio Theater in Exile and Tutti Bravi respectively. Her works have appeared in Approaches to Teaching the Works of Fernando Pessoa (2025), Mean Streets (2021), Persona Studies (2021 and 2015), Transnational Crime Fiction: Mobility, Borders, and Detection (2020), Exquisite Corpse: Studio Art-Based Writing in the Academy (2019), The 100 Greatest Detectives (2018), and Thread (2017). For more info visit mpnolan.com<