Steve Pulaski Riding in Cars With Boys does an amazing job at avoiding hazards, caricatures, comedic relief, and most importantly, formulas. It's an exercise in mature and honest filmmaking, and every actor and actress is blessed by the great material they've been handed.The film tells the sad but heart-warming coming of age parable, taking place in the 1960's, of a young woman named Beverly Donofrio (Barrymore) who becomes a mother at the tender age of fifteen, gets married to the loser she can barely look at by the end of the film named Ray (Zahn), and tries to stay in school to secure her life. The story is true and is taken from the autobiography of the same name.Beverly is likable, but desperate, and there are many situations she gets involved in that could label her a bad mother. Frequently in the film I imagined the characters were sitting around a poker table and Beverly was dealt the worst of the hands. She plays them, hoping to score, but inevitably, risks are taken and her luck turns sour. She is ambitious and willing to win the pot, but she can't make a whole lot of the cards she has but to play them and hopefully upgrade them for some bigger ones.Her parents are played extraordinarily by James Woods, giving a performance just as good as he did as the pimp Lester Diamond in Casino, and Lorraine Bracco who does her best to pursue and cope with her daughter's hefty decisions.Beverly and Ray are with each other because they have to be. Are they in love? No, it's more of a mutual liking between them. They don't hate each other, although shadows of extreme disgust and dislike begin to show further in the story. They're with each other because if not, she'd be a tramp and he'd be a deadbeat scumbag. This depicts the time in the world where men stepped up and made attempts to father the child they mistakingly brought into the world. And the women turn to her books and schoolwork as much as she could if impregnated at a young age. Now, when a woman is pregnant, before she calls her boyfriend, she tries to secure a deal with MTV.The supporting work doesn't just stem from Woods and Bracco. It's everywhere. Brittany Murphy gives one of the best performances of her career as Fay, Bev's best friend who also is attempting to bring up a kid in this world. She is raising a girl named Amelia, while Bev is bringing up a boy named Jason. The young, vibrant romance between the two youths is woefully under-developed and that is one thing the film should've been dripping with.Steve Zahn is captivating as well. He's an actor that can play virtually anyone. A screw up brother in one of my favorite horror films, a goofball father, a drugged out loser, and an idiot backup to Jack Black and Jason Biggs.One other minor complaint is the fact that at some points the film feels more considered with reenacting the nostalgia of the sixties than actually developing the story or advancing it. Sure, the beautiful set pieces and photography compliment the script, but the overall pictorial aspect could've been ignored to focus more on the realism of the events. The Vietnam War is mentioned, and many other elements of the sixties, all of which are used very attentively and properly. Not gratuitously.Drew Barrymore is simply convincing and enigmatic as Beverly. She puts herself in the role of this desperate woman who frequently feels as if she needs to father her son and her husband. Her performance reminds me greatly of Natalie Portman's in Where the Heart Is. There's a depressing work of art, but both performances are so enigmatic and delightful that they shine a ray of sun on a plot so grim at some points. Barrymore portrays the struggles of a woman of the time period in a way that is very difficult to accomplish. She nails it with stunning honesty and piercing accuracy in her emotional struggles.And that's the keyword here; honesty. This film is genuine, and not sugarcoated. Life can seriously suck sometimes. The film makes no attempt to hide that. The things Riding in Cars With Boys is astounding and nonetheless memorable. It's a tender film with so much to show other than being a great coming of age drama. With the way it's filmed, acted, and written I'm shocked none of the credits read "Rob Reiner." Starring: Drew Barrymore, Brittany Murphy, Adam Garcia, Steve Zahn, James Woods, and Lorraine Bracco. Directed by: Penny Marshall.

Cedric_Catsuits I struggle to see what exactly this story is about. There is no drama, no humour, no extraordinary achievement, no morality, and the climax is so insipid that only the end credits indicate the film has finished. This is basically a video record of an ordinary group of people living ordinary lives in an ordinary town. If I want to see that, I can look out my window.This dullness is not aided by the performance of Barrymore, who really can't act and can barely feign interest in the job. Her character is central to the plot, but is rather unpleasant and one-dimensional.The only plus side, and without her I would not have bothered watching at all, is the fabulous and greatly missed Brittany Murphy. Nobody sparkles on screen like her, and had her character been the central one this might have been worth watching. She always gives 100% and deserves 10/10. The rest should hang their heads in shame.

lmcmackin1 This movie title was not the best because you judge it because of the title, or at least I did. My daughter wanted me to buy this movie for her for Xmas. I told her she was crazy. What mother wants to get a movie for their daughter that would be a mother's nightmare. My daughter ask me to trust her and get the movie. I did. We watched it together. It did not take long for me to relate to this movie on several areas.The Dad asking his daughter what she wanted for Xmas and then listen and not get her a bra was so sad. You could see he lost her for many years after that. The movie was filled with humor and very touching scenes. When the Dad has to leave his son was so sad. I cried. I love this movie. I own it. It is not giving up on your dreams and the struggle with relationships. We all can relate somewhere. I watch this movie when I miss my daughter. I learned to trust her a lot more after this movie. She wanted the book too. I had no problem with it. I recommend this movie to anyone. It is a real gem.

Wicked_Lil_Diva I watched this movie last night, expecting to watch an empowering movie about a strong woman. What I got was a story about an overbearing, rigid mom who makes stupid decisions and winds up in bad situations, but her predicaments are her own fault, despite a pesky conscience and caring parents. She even tells her son (not once but several times, mind you) that he ruined her life- nice parenting! Penny Marshall could have done a better job with the way she portrayed Beverly D'Onofrio (played by Drew Barrymore).What a disappointment! Not one person dies in this movie, which says a lot about how depressing this movie really is because I didn't think that a movie without a body count could be so depressing. This was neither uplifting nor empowering.On the plus side, the acting was really good. Even Lorraine Bracco, who plays D'Onofrio's mother, was good in this film, and I usually can't stand her. But even the brilliant performances by the actors couldn't save this film.