Boys on the Side *** (1995, Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughy, James Remar, Billy Wirth) – Classic Movie Review 5826

Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore star as three very different women who share a cross-country car trip to escape their lousy lives and rotten menfolk and/or emotional vacuums in a big heartwarming, bitter-sweet emotional ride.

Director Herbert Ross’s 1995 drama is extremely appealing with lots of laughs and lots of tears carefully distributed. It all goes really well until the disastrously overloaded, hard-to-take, tear-stained climax.

Still, written by Don Roos, it is very well meaning, appealing and overall hard to dislike. Sadly, though, the three excellent male co-stars Matthew McConaughy, James Remar and Billy Wirth have virtually nothing to do. It really is Boys on the Side. Goldberg plays lesbian Jane, Parker plays AIDS sufferer Robin and Barrymore plays one-night stand Holly seeking a good man to erase her past.

It is easy to read it as a crypto story about gay men and AIDS. Roy Orbison’s distressingly apposite song ‘You Got It’ features heavily.

Also in the cast are Anita Gillette, Estelle Parsons, Dennis Boutsikaris, Amy Aquino, Stan Egi, Stephen Grevedon, Jude Ciccolella, Gedde Watanabe and Jon Seda.

Don Roos also wrote Single White Female (1992), Love Field, Diabolique, Happy Endings (2005), Marley & Me (2008), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Love and Other Impossible Pursuits and Bounce (2000).

He also directed Happy Endings (2005), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Love and Other Impossible Pursuits and Bounce (2000).

He is married to Dan Bucatinsky and they have two children.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5826

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