Riding in Cars with Boys Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)October 22nd, 2001
'3BlackChicks Review...'
RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS (2001)
Rated PG-13; running time 135 minutes
Genre: Drama
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.ridingincars.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0200027
Written by: Morgan Upton Ward (based on the book by Beverly Donofrio) Directed by: Penny Marshall
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, James Woods, Lorraine Bracco, Adam Garcia, Mika Boorem, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Sara Gilbert, Vincent Pastore, Cody Arens, Logan Arens, Logan Lerman
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsincars.html
There's something about movies based on a true story, or on a personal-story novel, that sometimes gets my pantyhose in a bunch. All too often, the director and/or scriptwriter changes some of the more harsh, edgy bits to make it more palatable to a Family Audience, leaving the discerning viewer with the feeling that something vital was missing in the retelling. Take RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS, for example.
The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
It worked well with MULHOLLAND DRIVE so...what the heck. Here's the copytrailer's screed for "Riding In Cars":
"Beverly is a woman who had grand dreams as a teenager only to find them derailed by her weakness for boys, which resulted in an accidental pregnancy. As she grows up and raises her young son, she tries to come to terms with how her life has gone so far while reluctantly discovering how to be a mother. She struggles with her identity, her relationships and her goals, and eventually she finds the strength to pursue her dreams."
Mebbe I went to a different movie or something, because I missed something there.
The Upshot:
What's missing, to start with, are those many "boys" with whom Bev trysted. To have the above screed tell it, Bev was a straight-up ho. Not so, according to director Penny Marshall and actress Drew Barrymore. Their young Bev was just boy-curious, and disappointed by Dear Old Dad (James Woods) to the point of sudden, mild rebellion. If this description seems vague, it's because the this-happened-because-this-happened background info we are offered, is equally vague. Maybe it's Just Me, but my Disbelief absolutely refused to be Suspended. See, my Disbelief usually wants to be wined and dined first, not completely ignored on the first date.
Motivations throughout this picture were tenuous at best, completely opaque at worst. Time and time again, I found myself asking "uh, why?" in scene after scene. "Uh, why were all these townsfolks such asses to Beverly, even before she became Soiled By Pregnancy?"; "Uh, why did she tell grown-up Jason to just leave her there?"; "Uh, why are they driving around with their windows down in the middle of bleedin' Winter?". And the beat goes on. No, I'm not the kind of viewer who needs everything spelled to me; but a simple "You Are Here" sign post every now and then, might've been nice.
Needless to say, director Marshall disappointed me. She's never been a big-story storyteller, though her movies (including BIG, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, and AWAKENINGS) are often quite good, and certainly innocuously pleasant enough so as not to offend. Aye, there's the rub. Just once, I'd like to see her take the risk of ruffling some feathers, of pissing some folks off - or at least of getting dirty enough to make it seem like she's taking a strong stance instead of sitting back and watching the calm waters stay calm. I think she has it in her to do so, but maybe I'm wrong; maybe some artists just don't have the teeth to make a good, noticeable bite mark.
And without a credible framework from which to move within, most of the other actors and their characters, didn't work well for me. Drew Barrymore did a fine job as it were, though her Bev just seemed to flounder as a younger character; not just as a young mother, but as a character, period. It was the older Bev that I would've preferred seeing more of, by far. The opposite is true for her son Jason; I thought the younger renditions were the more charming (and, in the case of Cody Arens, the 8-year-old Jason, the more funny) editions. By the time Adam Garcia (Jason at 20) got big face time ons creen, I was already weary of his story; older Jason would've fit nicely in the Angst-filled THIRTYSOMETHING cast. As for Steve Zahn (Ray), I have no idea What That Was. I got the feeling he thought he was in a completely different movie; he sure *acted* like it.
Of the supporting cast, I really liked Brittany Murphy's Faye; she nailed the Best Friend character, making her much more real to me than anything Lorraine Bracco's Mother and especially frequent scene-chewer James Woods' Father, could even approach. Had *anyone* but Woods been cast as Leo, I may have been able to believe that character. Not that I don't like Woods as an actor - I do - but he felt completely wrong here. All that said, if I could only wipe that sappy, BS Meter-breaking, end scene out of my mind, I might give RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS a break. Then again...no.
The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]:
[...or, "watch Bammer piss some people off yet again"]
Looks like it's time to play America's Favorite Game again: "Imagine It With Black Folks", yeehaw!
Ok, so I'm a bit bitter; I know it's unbecoming [hey, I *was* gonna say "uppity", but let's not go there, eh?], but I take umbrage at the double standard we seem to be operating in in modern cinema. I haven't read the book, but having seen descriptions of the movie saying that Bev "recovered from welfare to Make A Better Life For Herself" (or something like that), I get the distinct impression that director Penny Marshall somewhere along the line made the choice to soften the blow with Bev, to keep the audience's comfort level intact.
After all, we can't have Welfare Moms actually making something of themselves, can we? That's so...Ghetto!
Bammer's Bottom Line
Giving credit where credit is due, Drew Barrymore earned my respect for going the Glamorous Actress Takes An Unglamorous Role route. But she and Penny Marshall stopped just short of full-on honesty, a la Scott Hicks' heinous cheat with HEARTS IN ATLANTIS earlier this year. This comparison is most def Not A Good Thing.
RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS (rating: yellowlight):
This Car is parked in neutral; it's going nowhere, fast.
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
EMAIL: [email protected]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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