Better without Brand, Andy & Stef?

So everyone just accepts Brand and the girls then? No brave and bold dissenters here at IMDb?

I don't think the movie would have been better off without them, but it would have been better off without some of the painfully stupid lines they gave Andy.
I just like Steph too much, and she wasn't even the hot one.
"Chunk, I hope that was your stomach!"
And yes, I know she said purpose, not porpoise. I was just being silly with the other topic.

Nah, the Goonies were an ensemble - greater than the sum of its parts.

I do think that Mikey was the one that carried the whole gang while Mouth and Chunk were really important - those three characters were the heart and soul of the group and had all the best lines, but they were a team and everyone did their job including Andy and Stef who added more by being a little older - they were like the older sisters. Brand was awesome - he was their muscle man and mentor.

You know back before the war broke out I was a saucier in San Antone

Great. 4 kids screaming for two hours. No thanks.

The three older teens were definitely a break from the immature loud kids.

I suppose the writers needed to add the romance element to it, hence the girls, even though its a kids movie.

I did enjoy Mouth and Stef sparring back and fourth. He obviously crushed on her.

And Andy with the two brothers lol.

The thing is, when I was younger I liked that there were girls in it. I didn't wanna watch a film with just boys,
lol.

Although that strictly male dynamic worked for Stand By Me.

I think Gordie's mother was the only female in the whole movie!

No, impossible. Andy's panties are what makes the Goonies :)

Not for me. Leaving out the possibility that the younger kids would have a harder time trying to keep it together while running from the Fratellis, a lot of the charm the movie provides lays in the interactions the kids have with the older teens and the situations they find themselves in. Besides, Stef is a great character, and though Brand and Andy can be described as more cliche-ish, being part of this adventure and watching them react to everything made their characters stand out more. They’re all awesome.

And we got a good enough look at how strong Mikey, Mouth, Data and Chunk’s friendship was earlier in the movie, I’d say. I don’t think more was necessary.

Without Andy they would've never reached the ship. She was the only one who somewhat knew how to play the piano. Say Brand never found them so they go on the adventure just like before only this time with Chunk and no Fratelli's chasing them. However maybe Brand and the girls gets captured while sneaking around the restaurant, and The Fratelli's learn about the tunnel from Brand so maybe the Fratelli's do chase them just like before. There are two potential scenarios at this point. With no Fratelli's on their back they reach the skeleton piano just like before and realize they are screwed, and now they have to go back the way they came. If the Fratelli's are on their trail they will be forced to play the organ and fall to their doom. Both of the scenarios would suck pretty bad. To be honest it's pretty silly they didn't realize a pianist would be required to complete the journey since there are notes on the back. Mikey should've included that fact during his epic waterfall speech when Andy was about to bail