Riding In Cars With Boys Review

"One day can make your life; one day can ruin your life. All life is is four or five big days that change everything." These words of wisdom are spoken by Drew Barrymore in her latest movie, "Riding In Cars With Boys." In this adaptation of the true life book he plays a woman from fifteen in 1965 to thirty five in 1985, and along the way we see how just a few big days did indeed change everything. When we first meet Beverly Donofrio she is an excitable and love struck fifteen year old, with obvious talent as a writer and a promising future seemingly in front of her. However all that changes the day she tells her parents she’s pregnant and subsequently marries nineteen year old Ray, a none too bright high school drop out who nevertheless pledges his undying love to her as they set up home on the wrong side of the tracks.

The film cleverly moves from the ‘present’ in 1985 to various times over the preceding twenty years, until we understand just how Beverly ended up where she is; on a long car journey on another of life’s big days. It features some great performances, with Steve Zahn succeeding in making the ever unreliable and ultimately selfish Ray a surprisingly likable loser, and Drew Barrymore excelling as the young woman, ill equipped to be a mother and determined to succeed at any cost. Unfortunately though Barrymore’s portrayal of Beverley is so convincing that on occasions its hard to actually like her, and if you don’t like the central character it makes it hard to like the actual movie too much! Somewhat lacking in laughs for a film that is billed as a comedy drama "Riding In Cars With Boys" is in fact an ultimately uplifting (if overlong) drama that belongs to Drew Barrymore and her brilliant performance at its centre.