The Treasure

I remember watching this when I was about 10. My mom rented it for my brother and me, she said it was going to be like the Goonies. Well, it wasn't. My brother and I thought it was the worst movie we had ever seen, up until that point in time. I've seen it a few times on tv since then and my feelings are the same. to be avoided

A film so ridiculously deritive that you know what's going to happen as the opening credits come up. A film so bad that you don't care. The three kids mysteriously grow 4-5 inches in some scenes, obviously shot months later in order to help out the plot or because the filmmakers ran out of money and couldn't shoot the film all at once.

The deus-ex-machina ending is acted so badly that all actors and crew should hang their head in shame.

This is one of those movies that I loved because despite its efforts to be a normal, children's adventure tale, it actually turns out to be a comic gem. Why? The acting, the plot, the dialogue, the characters. This is one of those movies that made me exclaim "It hurts!!!" because I was laughing so hard. (Also check out "Trucks" for this same effect. I am 21 and I love this movie (maybe I'm just immature and easily entertained). I would give a lot to have this movie released on dvd with director/cast commentary.

I had the interesting experience of working on this film as an assistant editor with Robert Paul. I had not been a part of principal photography, or even the initial rough cut. When it came to me, we worked on it steadily for 15-20 hour days for three straight weeks. I appreciate aspects of the film given its lack of budget, but there were far too many sequences where there was just not enough film footage to make much sense. It's kind of like the idea of the current Disney film 'Holes'. The Treasure is pock-marked with many craters.. It was a neat experience seeing it on the silver screen. Yes, it's not very good as a finished film, but it was a fun experience, and young kids (very young...) seem to enjoy some of the antics.

Every time I went to my grandparents to spend the night, we would go to the video store and rent this. It was a tradition that I miss now as an adult. The last time I saw it was when I was in Jr. High, I think, and I was spending the night with my cousins (one is 6 years younger than me, and the other is 7 years younger). We rented this and another film, and the one cousin was like, "lets not rent Treasure, it looks dumb!" The next morning, when my aunt asked her son if he had fun, he was like, "I liked the movie Mindy rented (Treasure) better than the one Katie rented (Monkey Trouble)" This movie rocks, and even kids today can enjoy it! I think it was amusing that it took several times viewing it to realize that the one guys name was Dub, not Tub! I think I would have preferred Tub. It was so much fun to call him that. I'd recommend this movie to any kid looking for an adventure story.