Riding in Cars with Boys drama starring Drew Barrymore

"Riding in Cars With Boys" is based on a novel based on the writers experiences growing up and learning valuable life lessons. Beverly Donofrio (Barrymore) is a young girl in the late 60's who isn't the prettiest, but certainly smart. She's got personality and aspirations to be a writer. But these are the times when girls are expected to be married off and do practical things. Beverly isn't a practical girl.

After meeting up with a sweet but not so bright guy, she finds herself pregnant and unsure of how this will affect her dreams to go to college. But to please her parents she decides to get married which seems to be one of the most unhappiest days of her life. Her best friend Fay (Brittany Murphy) has been a great support to her. In fact she ends up getting pregnant too. Soon married life isn't what it's cracked up to be, her husband (Zahn) begins to change and become ..basically a loser. But she still wants to go to college and get out, as a young mother she questions whether or not she's just carrying on with the motions of her life or really is an active participant. She even questions her true feelings towards her son.

Beverly comes to a crossroads in her life when she must make a decision. She has never felt like the choices she has made were the choices that she wanted, but to please others. She was always making sacrifices. She wants more than anything to break free, be successful and independent...yet time and time again finds herself trapped by her family. In the end she finds that her hard journey was the life experience that eventually helped her achieve her goal...to be a writer.

Barrymore's performance is enjoyable, but at times a little "typical barrymore" and I feel too much fluff. And there's alot of "fill in the blanks" which we never get as far as her development from point A. to point B.. How her life made an impression on her growing son is evident throughout the film...and makes for another interesting perspective. While life experiences making interesting books, it's strange to see that a woman who's goal in life was to be a writer finally became one by writing about what she perceived as her failed past, failed marriage, strict family and basically showing the dirt and how she grew from it. maybe there's more to the story but I never got it in the end.

Even after she wrote her autobiographical story it seemed she never quite realized her greatest accomplishment was her son who came out so bright and well adjusted...in spite of having a drug addict father who took off, living poor with a mother who was so focused on herself and her wants and needs that she never bothered to wonder what her son wanted or needed. Gee, maybe it's just me. ;-)

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