Riding in Cars with Boys

Riding in Cars with Boys 

The 1960’s. In the mid to later years of this decade, the world shifted all at once, into a movement of free love, free speech and free choice. There were no longer just kids and adults; this era saw the emergence of the teen and young adult – Youth – and they were loud, proud and horny. That segway is a good indicator of what sets up events in the coming of age tale, “Riding in Cars with Boys”. I watched this film because it starred Drew Barrymore, my teenage crush, and it was streaming on Netflix. I’m enjoying discovering many movies for the first time that way.

I knew nothing about the movie before watching it, and could only guess what it was about from its title. I recall when it came out all the way back in 2001, and it was about Barrymore playing a mother reconnecting with her son, or something along those lines. It’s always a refreshing experience going into a movie blind, with no idea, no standards and no assumptions as to what it will be like. And glad to say, I enjoyed this film and was surprised by what was on offer.

We meet the character of Beverly, who lives a happy and simple life in suburbia. She has a younger sister, a stay at home mum and her dad is the loca sheriff. Their relationship in particular is close, but it all quickly changes when Beverly becomes a teenager. Her upbringing is told in flashback, as the film centres around a young man called Jason (Adam Garcia) driving his mum across the state for an important publishing meeting. It’s Drew Barrymore, playing older than she is, with her hair done and make up crafted in such a way, she looks like an uptight woman trying to hide the pain. It’s obvious from the start of this car trip, the relationship between mother and son is strained at best, and we figure out why in the continued series of flashbacks to Beverly’s youth.

As she becomes a teen, she meets Ray (Steve Zahn); a local high school drop out and overall drop kick, who means well but isn’t all that bright. Against type, Ray and Beverly form a relationship, and at the age of fifteen, she falls pregnant. Her law enforcing dad (James Woods) is not impressed, letting the little girl he once loved know she was a major disappointment that had let him down. Ouch! Parents can be so damaging with just a few words, and this theme is explored at great length through the film. In preparation for the unexpected package arriving, Beverly and Ray get married, and move into a dump of a house in a residential area that is falling apart at the seams. 

Bevery raises her son half-heartedly, trying to chase her dreams of getting into college and being a writer. But as life would have it, she doesn’t realise the burden of parenthood, a dopey husband and a demanding dad who regularly lets her know what a screw up she is. And so the film shifts between pivotal moments in Beverly’s life and the car trip with her son, and two stories unfold here. The first story is the journey of a girl from teenager to adult, from daughter to mother, who becomes a parent, a wife and whatever else she needs to be to survive and try to provide for her son. And it seems that whatever happens to her is everyone else’s fault, especially her sons. And the second story is the long road trip with mother and son, sorting out their differences and trying to put the past behind them.

I believe this was the film that showed Barrymore’s true maturity as an actor. Up until 2001, she had starred in a handful of rom-coms and some successful dramas, but here she showed there was a long, bright future in store for this former child star that had seen her fair share of dramas off screen. But at just 27 years of age here, Barrymore proves that acting can be hereditary, and it shines in all her scenes as not just acting skills learned, but a naturalism with performing that can only be handed down by her long ancestry of acting family members. She takes on many roles in the one character in this film, playing an unpleasant woman most of the way who still manages to connect with the viewer. You believe what she’s going through and can sympathise that she was just a girl who made a mistake and saw herself paying for that mistake over twenty years, when in fact it was that “mistake” who ended up growing into a successful young man who taught his mother the meaning of life. 

I recommend Riding in Cars with Boys, for its authentic, dramatic and often hilarious portrayal of a life, youth and love lost, carried effortlessly by Barrymore and a dependable performance by Steve Zahn who continued to show himself here as being one of the most underrated actors of his generation.

Return to List