Boys on the Side | Rotten Tomatoes

Boys on the Side

R

Released Feb 3, 1995

1h 57m

Comedy

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

73%

Tomatometer

113 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

25,000+ Ratings

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), answers a personal ad from Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin's friend Holly (Drew Barrymore), who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

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Critics Consensus

Pack your bags and leave them Boys on the Side to experience the kind of sisterhood that makes you laugh and cry through the bumpy, quirky road of life.

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

There's something strangely endearing about Boys on the Side. Perhaps it's the basic humanity woven into the movie's story, or the boundless optimism at its very heart.

Mar 15, 2023

Full Review

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

An engagingly acted, likable, fried green Thelma & Louise.

Mar 15, 2023

Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Boys on the Side isn't a profound film or even, given the TV-movie nature of its "predicaments," an especially risky one. But it's solidly endearing in terms of emotion, humor and character.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 15, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an amiable endeavor that benefits substantially from the top-tier efforts of its three stars...

Rated: 3/4

Oct 16, 2023

Full Review

Sara Voorhees

Scripps Howard News Service

I enjoyed every minute of it, and was moved to tears at least a dozen times. It's a brave movie, and it challenges the acceptability of prejudices that are the root of some of the most dangerous social problems of our time.

Mar 15, 2023

Full Review

Linda Cook

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

This is for the same audience who loved Friend Green Tomatoes and Thelma and Louise, which also are movies about women banding together for strength.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 15, 2023

Full Review

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Steve D

The mixed tones didn't work at all for me.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

dave s

Boys on the Side tells the story of three disparate women (Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, Mary-Louise Parker), all carrying their own significant emotional baggage, who embark on a road trip across America. However, what starts as a Thelma and Louise-like odyssey of personal discovery and female empowerment soon devolves into something more maudlin, along the line of Beaches. While the characters are all likeable enough and the movie is helped along by an excellent soundtrack, it ultimately feels as though it is hurt by the tonal shift, which feels like a bit of a cop-out, and way too much unnecessary and awkward dialogue, losing sight of how powerful imagery can be in such a visual medium. It's not that it's a bad movie, but you can't help but think that director Herbert Ross simply overthought things. Sometimes less is better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

james b

This was a really good movie. It's definitely worth a watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best way to describe this movie is being taken on a ride. It's charming, adventurous, emotional, funny, and everything in between. As friendship grows between the main characters, a relationship is also grown between the characters and the audience, so much so, you'll be in an emotional mess by the end of it. The cast handles all that's given to them with eloquence and skill. Movie vibes I'm picking up on is akin to Fried Green Tomatoes, My Girl, or Velma and Louise.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

jon c

Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConnaughey, and Mary-Louise Parker as Jane, Robin, and Holly A movie about a group of women who wander their own way in life Jane is a musician, Robin is a real estate agent and offers to drive cross country; the two of them decide to go from NYC to LA Along the way they run into a young blonde named Holly who wants to find love but she's also expecting a child Plus it turns out Jane and Robin have secrets from one another This sorta plays like another ‘Thelma & Louise' but with three female buddies along the spirits of ‘Fried Green Tomatoes' Sometimes if you don't have any place to go, it's best to stay where you are, children are supposed to live after us, is it ok that women use men like side pieces even though it's been done to them for the longest time?, you get whoever you end up with, we don't ever have to complain or explain, there's this inexplicable bond between women there no denying that An emotionally engaging film that struck a real chord with me The three actresses are a dime a dozen showing how strong their friendship is and the lengths they'll go to stay connected

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the best movies!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/05/19

Full Review

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Herbert Ross

Director

Whoopi Goldberg

Jane

Mary-Louise Parker

Robin

Drew Barrymore

Holly

Matthew McConaughey

Abe

James Remar

Alex

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Synopsis

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), answers a personal ad from Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin's friend Holly (Drew Barrymore), who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

Director: Herbert Ross
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Steven Reuther, Herbert Ross
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Regency Enterprises, Alcor Films, New Regency Pictures, Canal+
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 3, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.2M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Surround

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