"One day can make your life; one day can ruin your life. All life is is four or five big days that change everything."-- Beverly Donofrio.
It's these words that set up the story for Penny Marshall's latest comedy-drama, "Riding in Cars with Boys." The film focuses on the true story of Beverly Donofrio (played by Drew Barrymore), a woman whose dreams of becoming a writer appear to be shattered when she ends up pregnant at the age of 15. Determined to still graduate from high school and attend college, Beverly works day and night juggling her new career as a mother, putting up with her heroin-addicted husband (Steve Zahn) and just struggling to follow her dream.
Whether you know who Beverly Donofrio is or not, "Riding in Cars with Boys" isn't just about one woman's journey into adulthood-- it's a coming of age piece that anyone could relate to. The film takes an honest look at the surprises life gives us each and every day, and how one's determination can be enough to get through even the toughest moments.
Although the subject matter of "Riding in Cars with Boys" is quite serious, director Penny Marshall manages to make the film a relatively humorous piece that captures the ups and downs of life perfectly. Marshall tapes life as it happens on the set, adding a whole new level to the film. For not only does life's innocence shine through the script and its characters, but by leaving in simple mistakes that occurred on the set-- like characters slipping or dropping things-- viewers feel even more like they are watching life as it unveils, which is a great quality for a "based-on-a-true-story" film to have. However, no matter how often Marshall captures the little moments that make life what it is, the film wouldn't be nearly as entertaining and engaging without Drew Barrymore's presence.
Drew Barrymore is absolutely wonderful as Beverly. Unlike majority of Barrymore's past roles, Beverly isn't necessarily the type of character people will easily fall in love with. Since the film has no real villain outside of life itself, Beverly's constant irresponsibility towards her son makes her come across at times as the antagonist. But Barrymore still manages to keep the audience's interest in her by playing both the good girl and the bad girl splendidly, and by the end of the film she'll even have the viewers' respect.
As much as audiences will hate to love Barrymore though, her performance wouldn't be nearly as emotional and engaging without her supporting cast. Ranging from A-list veteran James Woods to "it" girl of the moment Brittany Murphy, "Riding in Cars with Boys" has an equally talented cast of co-stars that share the screen time with Barrymore. However, it's Steve Zahn that manages to do the impossible and steal the spotlight away from Barrymore whenever he's on screen. Zahn gives an outstanding performance as the heroin addicted husband with the heart of gold, and his performance alongside Barrymore is simply splendid. When the two are together the sparks fly-- both good and bad-- and without his presence viewers wouldn't be so torn on whether they love or hate Beverly Donofrio.
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