Character Analysis
Shuffle Up
There's been a trend in movies the last couple of decades, and it's a good one: there are fewer and fewer "token fat kids." Creating a character who's purely there for comic effect because his belly protrudes a tad more than others'? That's problematic.
But back in the 1980s, it was par for the course. There are all kinds of jokes throughout the film at Chunk's expense. (Starting with the fact that his name is "Chunk.") The movie points out his love of candy bars and ice cream, making his obsession the butt of several more jokes.
And most unfortunate of all, he's teased…by his very own friends. Mouth (clearly the bully of the group, if there is one), forces Chunk to do the "Truffle Shuffle" before being admitted into the Walsh home. The "Truffle Shuffle" consists of Chunk lifting up his shirt and jiggling everything that jiggles. It's degrading, and sad that he simply accepts it and follows his peer's orders.
At least he didn't seem to mind it too much—maybe Chunk is a future pro belly dancer?
Did I Do That?
In case the character didn't have enough to deal with, weight-wise, Chunk is also klutzier than Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet. His lack of coordination is so predictable, in fact, that Mikey actually hands him the map well knowing that it's only a matter of time before Chunk drops it, breaking the glass so that the map can be retrieved.
Of course, laughing at someone who is uncoordinated is slightly less frowned upon than laughing at them because they're roly-poly. Which is a good thing, because watching someone slip on a banana peel or wipe out on a hoverboard is really, really funny.
And not only is he a butterfingers, we learn that Chunk has a dark past. Well, it's a dark past according to him—he feels some serious guilt about his past misdeeds. When the Fratellis force him to tell them everything, he starts spilling his guts:
CHUNK: Everything. Okay, I'll talk. In third grade I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade I stole my Uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I played Moses in my Hebrew school play. In fifth grade I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog...
All that shame weighs heavily on our boy Chunk—which proves that he has a super-good (albeit neurotic) heart.
Fortunately for Chunk, he gets some redemption. Near the end of the movie, when things are looking bleak for the other Goonies, Chunk comes to the rescue. All right, so he's riding the back of Sloth, but still…he's there.
True Love
But let's get back to that "riding on the back of Sloth" thing. Because, in our book, The Goonies is a love story.
No, we're not talking about the love that exists between Andy and Brand. We're not talking about the sizzling chemistry between Stef and Mouth. We're talking about Sloth and Chunk, the guys who put the "bro" in "bromance."
These two misfits don't just share a love for Baby Ruth. They heart each other: they have one another's backs, help each other through the obstacle course of One-Eyed Willy's lair, and even become something like stepbrothers:
CHUNK: Yeah. I'm gonna take care of ya. Cause I love ya.
SLOTH: Oh, I love you, Chunk.
CHUNK: I love you, Sloth.
That's right: by the end of this film Chunk has invited Sloth to come and live with him. And we don't think that's just because Sloth has saved Chunk's hide—we think that this is real, true, love.
Chunk's Timeline