‘RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS’: THE ONE RUMORS SAY IS CULT CLASSIC

At some point or another, chances are high I get around to watching more of the movies with favorite actors. This title is no exception. Based on a novel that’s really more of a memoir, Riding in Cars with Boys follows a girl with big dreams but very little opportunity.

Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) Film Review

Ever since she was a pre-teen, Beverly was a boy crazy girl who just happens to be smart. When her parents encourage her academia over boys, Beverly kind of “shuts down” sharing everything with them. But while she chases boys, she still can’t shut off her brain. Her chasing lands her pregnant at fifteen and with a boy named Ray (Steve Zahn) who just can’t be “the one.” To appease her horrified parents, Beverly (Drew Barrymore) agrees to marry Ray and with a baby, she still tries to study so that she can get a scholarship to NYU, which is all she’s ever wanted.

Time passes and with it so do Beverly’s dreams slip a little further away. To protect herself and her son, Jason, she makes a series of choices no one believes she should only to find herself possibly alone.

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Despite liking Drew Barrymore, this is one film I never did see. However when you spy what is called a “cult classic” on Prime, you go ahead and watch it. The film is housed under the comedy category though that’s not how I’d frame it. Sure there is some sense of wit but overall the story is heavy in its emotional weight. Set in the 1960s through the 80s, the film chronicles the real-life struggles of Beverly Daorgino, a woman who eventually authors and publishes a few books including this, a NYT Best-selling book.

Given all of that, I don’t know how well this was received by audiences. Rumor suggests well but as a newbie viewer, I cannot help but think it could have been lots better. I wish the film were less about the “pre” of Bev’s life and more about the better part of her life; the part where she did, in some different ways, make things better and was able to live happier as a result. The drudgery aspect that most of the film wades through just feels too much. Additionally from what the book sounds like, it seems as though the film differs.

Also with Drew Barrymore in the cast is Brittany Murphy, James Woods and Lorraine Banco (Rizzoli & Isles). With a strong cast and interesting “inspired by” story, Riding in Cars with Boys isn’t a bad film. It’s just not exactly what I anticipated either.

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You can find Riding in Cars with Boys digitally on Amazon Video; at publication, it’s with Prime.

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Content: There is profanity like sh*t, GD and other. There’s some sexual innuendo and teenagers make out (heavily) in the first 20 or so minutes of the film. We see their legs and arms everywhere, some removal of clothing and later the rocking of a car. One character is an alcoholic and abuses drugs. The film rates PG-13.

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