Riding in Cars with Boys

Riding in Cars with Boys
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Penny Marshall
Produced by	Julie Ansell James L. Brooks Sara Colleton Laurence Mark Richard Sakai
Screenplay by	Morgan Ward
Based on	Riding in Cars with Boys  by Beverly Donofrio
Starring	Drew Barrymore Steve Zahn Brittany Murphy James Woods Lorraine Bracco Sara Gilbert Vincent Pastore
Music by	Heitor Pereira Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	Miroslav Ondrícek
Editing by	Lawrence Jordan Richard Marks
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 19, 2001 (2001-10-19)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$48 million
Box office	$35,743,308

Riding in Cars with Boys is a 2001 film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio about a woman who overcame difficulties, including being a teen mother, and who later earned a master's degree. The movie's narrative spans the years 1961 to 1985. It stars Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, and James Woods. It was directed by Penny Marshall. Although co-produced by Beverly Donofrio, many details from the book and film differ.

Plot

Intelligent but naive Beverly Donofrio (Drew Barrymore), a teenager when the movie begins in the early 1960s, dreams of becoming a writer. At 15, she and her best friend Fay (Brittany Murphy), go to a party. Fay finds her boyfriend Bobby while Beverly writes a letter to Sky, a popular football player who then reads the contents aloud to his buddies and they all laugh at her. Beverly flees to the bathroom where she is consoled by a friendly stranger named Ray (Steve Zahn) who gets into a fight with Sky defending Beverly's honor. They are chased out of the party, and are joined by Fay and Bobby as they make a quick exit. The foursome go to a lookout where Bobby and Fay have sex in the backseat. Beverly is overcome by Ray's kindness and she has sex with him. Her father, a police officer, drives up and brings them to the police station where Beverly tries to defend herself and vehemently denies having had sex.

She soon finds out she is pregnant and tells Fay who suggests Beverly talk to Ray before telling her parents. She is in the middle of explaining a plan where she'll move to New York with the baby when Ray tries to propose. He professes his love for her and she reluctantly says she loves him but doesn't want to marry him. She then writes a letter to her parents confessing that she is pregnant. When they confront her, she says that she doesn't want to get married but changes her mind when her dad starts crying and saying she's ruined her life and his. At her wedding, Fay announces she is also pregnant and the two girls, although upset, celebrate the fact they will both have little girls together.

As the months go by, the girls realize they are missing out on their childhood, prom and an education. Beverly and Ray welcome a son named Jason, however, when he is born, Beverly refuses to hold him saying she had a girl, not a boy, and when Ray tells her they have a son, she bursts into tears. Beverly is jealous that she had a boy and Fay got to have a baby girl, Amelia. Fay tells her husband if he re-enlists then she wants a divorce and he says he wants one too- he's got a girlfriend. Several friends from high school turn up at Jason's sixth birthday party including Tommy who had a crush on Beverly. He suggests they all move out to California and he'll help them out. The state will pay for Beverly to go to college. Ray agrees to go too. When they're packing to leave, he goes out to the store but doesn't return. Beverly's mother calls and says she should come over now. Ray reveals he is addicted to heroin and spent all their savings for California on drugs. He starts to detox but sneaks out while Beverly is sleeping. He comes home and tells her it's impossible to quit. She agrees but says since he can't he should leave them because they'd be better off. Jason (Logan Lerman) hates his mother for making Ray leave.

Beverly and Fay still want to go to California so they are paid by a marijuana dealer to use the oven so he can dry out the weed. Jason (still mad at his mother) tells his grandfather (James Woods), who is a cop, and he arrests them. Fay's brother bails her out and she uses the money they saved to bail out Beverly. Fay's brother bailed her out under the condition that Fay and Amelia move near him and promise not to see Beverly again. Jason confesses he was the one who got them arrested and Beverly tells him he ruined their lives and it's his fault Fay and Amelia moved away.

In the present day, Beverly and Jason (Adam Garcia) are driving to visit Ray. Jason tells Bev he wants to transfer out of NYU to Indianapolis. She cuts him off saying that's not going to happen and he has to finish his last two years so he can have the life she never got. Jason is in a relationship with Amelia (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and calls her and says he can't move to Indianapolis to be with her. She says she can't make him happy and they hang up, both unhappy. Jason and Beverly arrive at Ray's trailer. They explain Beverly has written an autobiography, which talks about Ray's drug use and a publisher agreed to print it, but only if Ray signs paperwork stating he will not sue them. Ray's wife, Shirley, tells him not to sign it and demands $100,000. Outraged, Beverly screams at him that she'll never forgive him as she storms out. Jason finally speaks his mind saying he needs a minute to recover from seeing a man who hasn't showered in a month and has rotting teeth who is his father. He accuses her of being a bad mother and she yells at him saying she'll never forgive him and walks away.

Ray and Jason share a moment where Ray explains he knew the best thing for his son was to leave and that he thinks Jason grew up into such a nice man because he left. Ray signs the papers and secretly gives them to Jason. Jason goes and finds Bev where their confrontation continues. She says he's so perfect because she was a great mother and he replies that he's so screwed up. He can't even be with the person he loves because she thinks she can't make him happy even though he knows she's the only good thing in his life. He says he knows he ruined his mom's life. Bev is shocked and finally admits how proud she is of him and that he's the one good thing in hers. She tells him to go to Amelia, leaving her in the middle of nowhere, saying she wants him to be happy. Jason then feels remorse for her mother and expresses how much he loves her. Bev asks him if Fay knows and he says yes and that she thinks it's great. Bev is indignant and complains that Fay didn't say anything and they just spoke two nights ago. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Beverly is forced to call her father. She complains that Jason blames her for everything wrong in his life and asks if he can imagine that. He recognizes that he has been blaming her that same way and starts singing a song they used to sing together and hugs her as they reconcile.

Cast

• Drew Barrymore as Beverly Ann "Bev" Donofrio
• Mika Boorem as Bev Donofrio, age 11
• Steve Zahn as Raymond "Ray" Hasek
• Adam Garcia as Jason Hasek
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Amelia
• Logan Lerman as Jason Hasek, age 8
• Brittany Murphy as Fay Forrester
• James Woods as Mr. Leonard Donofrio
• Lorraine Bracco as Mrs. Teresa Donofrio
• Rosie Perez as Shirley Perro
• Desmond Harrington as Bobby
• Sara Gilbert as Tina Barr
• Peter Facinelli as Tommy Butcher

Filming Locations

• Bronx Community College, Bronx, New York City (University Avenue at West 181 Street)
• City Island, Bronx, New York City
• Congers, New York
• Harrison, New York (house party scene)
• Mt. Vernon, New York
• Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York
• Yonkers, New York
• West Nyack, New York
• Bloomfield, New Jersey
• East Orange, New Jersey
• Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey
• Glen Ridge, New Jersey (house scenes)
• Newark, New Jersey
• Paterson, New Jersey
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Reaction

The film received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "A film like this is refreshing and startling in the way it cuts loose from formula and shows us confused lives we recognize ... This movie is closer to the truth: A lot depends on what happens to you, and then a lot depends on how you let it affect you". In his review for The New York Times, Stephen Holden praised Steve Zahn's performance: "It is hard to imagine what Riding in Cars With Boys would have been without Mr. Zahn's brilliantly nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of Ray, who goes through more changes than Beverly". USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and found that the "strength of the movie lies in these performances and in the situational humor, though ultimately the ending is disappointing, attempting to wrap up loose ends far too neatly".

Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "C+" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "Which is to say, every scene is bumpered with actorly business and production detail that says more about nostalgia for the pop culture of earlier American decades than about the hard socioeconomic truths of being a poor, young, undereducated parent". In her review for the Washington Post, Rita Kempley criticized Drew Barrymore's performance: "Barrymore, a delightful comic actress, has the spunk for the role but can't do justice to the complexities of Beverly's conflicted personality. So she comes off as abrasive and neglectful as opposed to headstrong and ambitious, winning no empathy for this sour single mom". Edward Guthmann also had problems with Barrymore's performance in his review for the San Francisco Chronicle: "She never relaxes, never surrenders to the character, but instead tries to justify her and to make us like her despite her selfishness and poor mothering. American actors as a rule are terrified of playing unsympathetic characters, particularly when they've gained the celebrity and box-office appeal that Barrymore has". In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan criticized the film's direction: "At home with the comedy, even if it is too broad, the director brings next to nothing to the serious scenes; they simply sit there on the screen, empty and forlorn".

Box office

The film opened at #2 at the U.S. Box office raking in $10,404,652 USD in its opening weekend, behind From Hell.

References

8. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200027/locations

External links

• Riding in Cars with Boys at the Internet Movie Database
• Interviews with the cast