We're just gonna say it: The Goonies is one of the greatest foreclosure movies of all time.
If you're scratching your head, give us a chance to explain. It'll all make sense by the end of this 3-minute read.
The Goonies is the story of one family’s struggle to protect themselves from foreclosure. As the kids gather together to enjoy their last weekend before eviction, Mr. Perkins stops by to taunt the Walsh family and drop off the foreclosure paperwork. This foreclosure will not only evict the Walsh family but will jump-start the mass foreclosure of half a town in order to make space for a country club. When the kids find an old treasure map in the attic, it kicks off an adventure to find legendary pirate One-Eyed Willy and his fabled lost treasure trove.
Looming just behind the dangers of booby traps, the vicious Fratelli family, and precarious caves is the ever-present fear of foreclosure. Mikey, the de facto leader, and youngest Walsh boy, is motivated not just by the adventure and glory of being the one to find pirate treasure, but by the very real pressure to find some way to save his family home.
At the very end of the film, the Spanish housekeeper/moving helper/grocery shopper—who is inexplicably down at the shore with the rest of the reuniting families—finds an entire pile of jewels that Mouth smuggled out in a marble bag. And she screams in Spanish, “No firmen!” “No Sign!” and Mr. Walsh immediately rips up the papers and says, “There will be no foreclosure today or any day!” and they toss the shredded papers up in the air in celebration as they watch a pirate ship sail off into the sunset.
Is this reality? Not really. The film tends to favor movie magic over the reality of foreclosure. The Walsh family would need to find a way to liquidate the jewels before they could be used to stop foreclosure and save their home. There was no judge to give a final decision on the case. Billions of pirate booty are sitting on Willie’s ship, yet no one in the financially struggling group is making a move to go after the ship.
But let’s pretend that this is the moment where a family that was considering offering the deed to their home in lieu of foreclosure turned into “We have the money to fight.” Let’s pretend that all of these plot holes don’t matter and enjoy as we watch a family get their life back. And let’s remember: The Goonies is about foreclosure defense and the hope of a brighter financial future.
While The Goonies may not be based in reality, what we do at Veitengruber Law certainly is. If you need a solution to potentially losing your beloved family home to foreclosure, we know what to do to help. While we may not have a bag of jewels on a beach, we think that what we have to offer you is actually much, much better.