Three women embark on a trip across the U.S. and before the end there'll be tears and occasional laughter. 1995's Boys on the Side is a road movie for people who like Terms of Endearment, a story about three imperfect women who find some kind of meaning in their lives when their luck turns very bad. I'm not sure I'm the right audience for that kind of story but I can appreciate how many people might find it a sort of comfortable, warm mud bath. It has a really good soundtrack.
The film begins through the point of view of Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), a singer who finds gigs are drying up in New York and decides to voyage out to L.A. She winds up sharing a ride with the demure and mousy Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), one of those pretty, affable women with no friends who only exist in movies. They stop in Pittsburgh and pick up Jane's party girl friend Holly (Drew Barrymore) and the trio is complete.
The actresses have good chemistry and play well off each other though the friction between Jane and Robin is often too broad, particularly in the film's climax. The film is at its best when it's not trying so hard, when the women are chilling out in the car or hanging out in the gorgeous desert manor Robin suddenly and inexplicably possesses in Arizona. Matthew McConaughey has a small role as Holly's new boyfriend in Arizona, a cop who starts to suspect she was involved in the killing of her previous boyfriend, an amusing subplot.
The end of the movie forces a dynamic on the characters in the interest of being maudlin and I wasn't into it but, as I said, your mileage may vary.
The soundtrack is pretty fascinating, comprised entirely of female singers. It features a number of notable covers including, I was surprised to hear, The Pretenders' cover of Morrissey's "Everyday is Like Sunday", a recording Morrissey himself spoke well of. I also appreciated Sarah McLachlan's cover of Tom Waits' "Ol'55", which is kind of a perfect road movie song.
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