Riding in Cars with Boys

Adapted from Beverly Donofrio's memoir. Beverly gets pregnant at fifteen and has to marry Ray, the father. She had wanted to be a poet and go to university; none of it happens. The film follows thirty-five years of her life: the marriage, Ray's heroin addiction, the divorce, poverty, the tension between her and her son Jason, and eventually the return of her wish to write. Its bravest quality is refusing to make the mother likeable. Beverly tells her son outright that he ruined her life, and the film does not present this as a misunderstanding. Jason knows it, and much of the narrative proceeds from his view. Drew Barrymore plays Beverly, carrying the character from fifteen to thirty-five. Steve Zahn plays Ray and Adam Garcia the adult Jason. Penny Marshall directed. It failed at the box office and drew mixed reviews, and was later counted among Barrymore's best performances. Valuable for anyone who likes hard drama built on mothers and children. For a viewer wanting emotional relief the film does not supply it; the good feeling arrives briefly and late.