'' Boys on the Side '' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

(in his final film as a director). It stars

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

, and

Mary-Louise Parker Mary-Louise Parker (born August 2, 1964) is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' '' Prelude to a Kiss'' in 1990 (for which she received a Tony Award nomination), Parker came to prominence for film roles i ...

as three friends on a cross-country road trip. The screenplay was written by

Don Roos Donald Paul Roos (born April 14, 1955) is an American screenwriter and film director. Life and career Roos was born in upstate New York into a conservative Roman Catholic family of mostly Irish descent. He attended the University of Notre Dame i ...

Plot

Jane, a musician who recently broke-up with her girlfriend and her band, decides to move from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She answers a newspaper ad for a co-driver to Los Angeles posted by Robin, a real estate agent who is also moving to California. Jane initially declines to join her on the road, but agrees after her car gets towed. Jane and Robin begin their journey and make a stop in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

to see Jane's friend, Holly. Jane and Robin witness a fight between Holly and her abusive boyfriend Nick about missing drugs. The three fight Nick when he assaults Holly in an argument over drugs. Holly hits Nick in the head with a bat to stop him from attacking Jane and knocks him out. They tape Nick to a chair with duct tape, put three hours worth of loud music on his stereo to give themselves a head start. Holly snaps a Polaroid of herself with the tied and bound Nick before they leave. Hours later, Nick frees himself but falls, hits his head on the bat again and dies from his injuries. Robin sees a newspaper with the report of his death the next day. They debate what to do. When Holly confesses she’s also pregnant, and afraid of being arrested for murder, everyone decides to continue on to California together. During a stop in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, Robin collapses at a local diner and is rushed to hospital for

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. A doctor informs Jane and Holly that Robin has

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

as well as pneumonia. They decide to stay in Tucson and start new lives there. Robin’s health improves, Jane gets a job singing in a bar and Holly falls in love with a local police officer named Abe Lincoln. Robin, Holly, and their new friends throw a surprise birthday party for Jane. Robin surprises Jane afterward with a new piano. Jane plays

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

“

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

”, unaware that Robin is watching from the shadows. Robin realizes Jane is in love with her. Their idyllic life is short-lived. Jane and Robin's friendship crumbles when Jane, with the best of intentions, tells a friendly bartender who’s interested in Robin, that she has HIV. Feeling betrayed, Robin asks Jane to move out. When Abe proposes to Holly, Holly confesses about Nick. Abe finds the photo Holly took and arrests her, despite his vow that he still intends to marry her. Holly is returned to Pittsburgh to stand trial for murder. Jane and Robin follow her to Pittsburgh and make peace with each other in the courthouse. Holly accepts a plea bargain offer of

involuntary manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

with one to two years in prison. Robin collapses after the trial from a lung infection, and in the hospital, Jane and Robin pledge love for each other. Holly gives birth to a daughter named Mary Todd and finishes serving her sentence. She and Abe marry and return to the house in Tucson for a welcome home party. Holly is shocked to find Robin weakened by the advanced stage of AIDS and in a wheelchair. At the party, Robin weakly tries to sing the Roy Orbison song " You Got It" to Jane, and Jane gently finishes the song. In the final scene, Robin has died from AIDS, Holly and Abe plan to stay in Arizona and raise a family, and Jane hits the road to seek a new life in

Cast

as Jane DeLuca *

as Robin Nickerson *

as Holly Pulchik *

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

as Abe Lincoln *

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

as Alex *

Billy Wirth William E. Wirth (born June 23, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and artist, perhaps best known for his role as Dwayne in the 1987 film, ''The Lost Boys''. Life and career Wirth was born in New York City to a lawyer father and an art ...

as Nick * Anita Gillette as Elaine Nickerson *

Dennis Boutsikaris Dennis Boutsikaris (; born December 21, 1952) is an American character actor who has won the Obie Award twice. He is also a narrator of audiobooks, for which he has won 13 Golden Earphone Awards and 8 Audie Awards. He won Best Audiobook of the ...

as Massarelli, Prosecuting Attorney * Estelle Parsons as Louise *

Amy Aquino Amy Aquino McCoy (born March 20, 1957) is an American television, film, and stage actress. The graduate of Harvard and Yale universities has appeared in television series such as ''Brooklyn Bridge'', '' ER'', and ''Being Human'', and was nominate ...

as Anna

Reception

''Boys on the Side'' received a positive response from critics. The film was entered into the

19th Moscow International Film Festival The 19th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 17 to 28 July 1995. The Golden St. George was not awarded. Jury * Richard Gere (United States – President of the Jury) * Friedrich Gorenstein (Germany) * Aurelio De Laurentiis (Italy) ...

. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3-and-a-half stars, writing:

The reviews for "Boys on the Side" will mention '' Fried Green Tomatoes'' and ''
Thelma and Louise Thelma is a female given name. It was popularized by Victorian writer Marie Corelli who gave the name to the title character of her 1887 novel ''Thelma''. It may be related to a Greek word meaning "will, volition" see ''thelema''). Note that altho ...
'', because it shares their assorted themes: female bonding, unexpressed love, women on the run. But this movie is not a collection of parts from other films. It's an original, and what it does best is show how strangers can become friends, and friends can become like family.
To get to know someone is very difficult, but if you really do, they should be able to tell you almost anything, and ask you almost anything, and that is where "Boys on the Side" is leading us.

Box office

The film was not a major box office hit and grossed $23.4 million in the United States and Canada and $47.4 million worldwide.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album consists entirely of contributions from female musicians, including

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

("I Take You With Me"),

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

("Willow") and the Indigo Girls ("Power of Two"). Hit singles by Annie Lennox ("Why") and

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

("Dreams") also appear, as are new recordings by Sheryl Crow,

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

, Stevie Nicks,

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...

, and others. Bonnie Raitt's cover of the Roy Orbison hit " You Got It" peaked at #33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart.

Track listing

# Bonnie Raitt - " You Got It" (

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

, Roy Orbison,

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

) – 3:27 #

- "I Take You with Me" (Etheridge) – 4:50 # Sheryl Crow - "Keep On Growing" ( Eric Clapton,

Bobby Whitlock Robert Stanley Whitlock (born March 18, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos, with Eric Clapton, in 1970–71. Whitlock's musical career began with Memp ...

) – 5:27 # Indigo Girls - "Power of Two" (

Emily Saliers Emily Ann Saliers (born July 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the musical duo Indigo Girls. Saliers sings soprano and plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments. Ear ...

) – 5:23 # Stevie Nicks - "Somebody Stand By Me" ( Sheryl Crow, Todd Wolfe) – 5:06 #

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: * The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (le ...

- "

Everyday Is Like Sunday "Everyday Is Like Sunday" is the third track of Morrissey's debut solo album, ''Viva Hate'', and the second single to be released by the artist. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's sec ...

" ( Morrissey, Stephen Street) – 3:42 #

- "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

" ( Dolores O'Riordan,

Noel Hogan Noel Anthony Hogan (born 25 December 1971) is an Irish musician and record producer best known as the lead guitarist and co-songwriter of the Irish alt-rock band the Cranberries. The Cranberries Hogan formed the Cranberries with his brother Mi ...

) – 4:32 # Annie Lennox - " Why" (Lennox) – 4:54 #

- "

Ol' '55 "Ol' '55" is a song by American musician Tom Waits. It is the opening track and lead single from Waits' debut studio album, '' Closing Time'', released in March 1973 on Asylum Records. Written by Waits and produced by Jerry Yester, "Ol' '55" wa ...

" (

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

) – 4:14 #

- "Willow" (Armatrading) – 4:04 # Jonell Mosser - " Crossroads" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

) – 2:49 #

- "You Got It" (Lynne, Orbison, Petty) – 3:03 # Bonnie Raitt - "You Got It" (Lynne, Orbison, Petty) – 3:26 There are several songs from the film that are not included on the official soundtrack album, such as

Toni Childs Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit in Australia in 19 ...

' version of " Take Me To The River" and Boxing Gandhis' version of "Magic Carpet Ride".

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boys On The Side 1990s female buddy films 1995 LGBT-related films 1990s road comedy-drama films 1995 films American female buddy films American LGBT-related films American road comedy-drama films Fictional portrayals of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Films directed by Herbert Ross Films scored by David Newman Films set in Pennsylvania Films set in Pittsburgh Films set in Arizona Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in Pennsylvania HIV/AIDS in American films Indigo Girls Lesbian-related films Regency Enterprises films Films with screenplays by Don Roos Warner Bros. films LGBT-related comedy-drama films Films produced by Arnon Milchan 1990s English-language films 1990s American films