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‘James Dean has got nothing on that kid’: River Phoenix films – ranked!

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Published 6 Aug 2026, 14:352 min read

‘James Dean has got nothing on that kid’: River Phoenix films – ranked! — image supplied by The Guardian Culture's feed — Image supplied with the original post by The Guardian Culture. The Guardian Culture

As Stand By Me is re-released for its 40th anniversary, we look at the late actor’s most intense, enduring roles – from a goofball boffin to a narcoleptic hustler

Issue-of-the-week TV movie about elder abuse, with Tuesday Weld as a harried mum taking out her frustrations on her own ageing mother. Phoenix slaps on the hair gel as the essentially decent son who blasts his music too loud, lets his rowdy if unusually spiffy pals put their feet on the furniture and resents the new house guest: “Grandma is really getting on my nerves!”