Themes: Women's Friendship, Living With AIDS, Unlikely Criminals
Main Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughey, James Remar
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This emotion-filled story stars Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, and Drew Barrymore as three women from different walks of life who find comfort in each other through tragedy. Parker plays Robin, an HIV-positive real estate executive who meets Jane (Goldberg), a lesbian lounge singer on her way to the West Coast who needs a driver. Robin volunteers for the job, and along the way, they stop in Pittsburgh to visit her friend Holly (Barrymore), who is pregnant and abused by her boyfriend. In an attempt to save Holly, all three decide to head West together to begin a new life. But they get only as far as Arizona before Robin falls ill and the three are forced to learn to rely on one another for growth and emotional sustenance. Jane, though concerned about Robin's condition, also finds herself with a romantic interest in her ailing companion. Holly confronts her need to be with abusive men, while Robin comes to grips with her fear of being alone and the realization of her own impending death. Fans of Herbert Ross' earlier Steel Magnolias (1989) might appreciate this movie, which tackles some of the same themes. Sometimes referred to as a "feminist road movie," the film deals with women who find one another in a time of crisis and realize that the bonds among women are more powerful than any of life's obstacles. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
An offbeat but engaging script by screenwriter and future director Don Roos elevates this standard girl empowerment/tearjerker drama to a level above the typical entries in its genre. While the film occasionally veers off into sketchy territory, great performances by a trio of actresses (with Whoopi Goldberg in particular earning well-deserved kudos for her atypical restraint) and Roos's trademark sly sense of humor keep the cheese factor low. There are times when the story's roots are showing, such as in a phony crisis involving a possibly deceased, abusive boyfriend that smacks too clearly of Thelma and Louise and leaves the imagined sound of a fevered pitch-meeting ringing in one's ears. Boys on the Side has something altogether different in mind than distaff revenge fantasy, however, taking a welcome, unexpected twist in the road that leads to a more elegiac, thoughtfully sober, and aesthetically pleasing conclusion than the film's first act would lead viewers to expect. Director Herbert Ross displays the facility he demonstrated with a strong female cast in Steel Magnolias, resulting in a memorable film that, while far from being a classic, is worth viewing for those in need of a good, cleansing session of unrestrained weeping. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Billy Wirth - Nick; Amy Aquino - Anna; Dennis Boutsikaris - Massarelli; Jude Ciccolella - Jerry; Stan Egi - Henry; Anita Gillette - Elaine; Jill C. Klein - Waitress; Aaron Lustig - Judge; Estelle Parsons - Louise; Josh Segal - Indigo Girls' Band #1; Danielle Shuman - Young Robin; Gedde Watanabe - Steve; Don Hewitt, Sr. - Tow Truck Driver; Tito Larriva - Indigo Girls' Band #4; Niecy Nash
Credit
William F. O'Brien - Art Director, Russ Kavanaugh - Associate Producer, Hank McCann - Casting, Patrick McCormick - Co-producer, Gloria Gresham - Costume Designer, Barry K. Thomas - First Assistant Director, Herbert Ross - Director, Michael R. Miller - Editor, Don Roos - Executive Producer, Patricia Karlan - Executive Producer, David Newman - Composer (Music Score), Fern Buchner - Makeup, Michael Germain - Makeup, Ken Adam - Production Designer, Donald Thorin - Cinematographer, Arnon Milchan - Producer, Steven E. Reuther - Producer, Herbert Ross - Producer, James Bayliss - Set Designer, Stephen Myles Berger - Set Designer, Rick Simpson - Set Designer, Jann K. Engel - Set Designer, Connie Brink - Special Effects, Dale Martin - Special Effects, Jim Webb - Sound/Sound Designer, Don Roos - Screenwriter, Al Laverde - Key Grip
Three unique women embark on a cross-country road trip: Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), a lesbian lounge singer in search of a new life after breaking up with her girlfriend; Holly (Drew Barrymore), a pregnant girl who just wants to escape her brutal boyfriend; and Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), an uptight real estate agent who has her own secrets (namely being infected with HIV). Robin puts an ad in the newspaper that she is looking for a traveling companion to drive across country to California with. Jane answers the ad and agrees to join Robin after her car gets towed during their meeting. Jane and Robin leave New York and travel through Pittsburgh to take Jane's friend Holly to lunch. They stumble across a knock out fight between Holly and her abusive boyfriend, Nick, over some missing drugs. They leave him there bound to a chair with tape after Holly hits him in the head with a bat to stop him from attacking Jane. Unbeknownst to the women, without medical attention, the blow Nick received to his head turns out to be fatal, as he stumbles across the floor and dies.
The three unlikely travelers then form a special friendship on their journey which sees them through ultimately tragic times.
After discovering that Holly accidentally killed Nick and that she is pregnant, the three women decide to continue across country and end up in Tucson, Arizona when Robin has to be hospitalized. They decide to stay in Tucson, hoping to start a new life. However, Jane has a secret crush on Robin, Holly falls in love with and eventually confesses to a local police officer named Abe Lincoln (Matthew McConaughey), and Robin finds the courage to face her impending death. Shortly after Jane and Robin have a falling out over Jane telling a guy (James Remar) who was interested in Robin that she has HIV, Holly is arrested by Abe. She is taken back to Pittsburgh to face the consequences of her actions. The return to Pittsburgh involves Robin and Jane making peace with each other. A few years pass, in Tucson, Holly is free and with Abe and her daughter, which is celebration to all family and friends. Sadly, Robin is now affected with AIDS and isn't expected to live much longer. The party asks Robin to sing "You Got It" as she performed that song in a Star Search contest, though weak, she manages to sing with Jane backing her singing. In the final scene, Robin has died from AIDS as her wheelchair is now empty, Holly and Abe plan to stay in Arizona and become a family, while Jane hits the road to finally seek a life for her own.
There are several songs from the film that are not included on the official soundtrack album, such as Toni Childs' version of "Take Me To River" and Boxing Gandhis' version of "Magic Carpet Ride".
