Riding in Cars with Boys by Beverly Donofrio

She’s better in the role’s teenage years than as the harried 35 year-old mother of the second story adding to her difficulty is the fact that she doesn’t look a day older than her 20-year-old “son” despite heavy-duty makeup and a collection of strained mannerisms.

Barrymore gives her most nuanced performance to date, demonstrating conflicting feelings of love and regret toward her son. A second storyline sees Beverly and her grown son, Jason (Adam Garcia), on a trip to track down her former husband.

The main story, told in flashback, follows Beverly’s transformation from not-so-innocent teen to single mom. Although frustrated by a seemingly endless series of failed schemes and missed opportunities, she clings stubbornly to the hopes she’s harbored since childhood. Unsurprisingly, Beverly’s life happens in spite of her as she busies herself making other plans. Despite these unanticipated setbacks, Beverly remains confident she’ll eventually realize her dream of attending college and becoming a writer. Nine months later, she’s a high school dropout living in public housing with a son she didn’t expect and a husband she didn’t want. Beverly’s life takes an unpredicted turn after riding in a car with one particular boy, an affable loser named Ray (Steve Zahn). With her first movie in five years, director Penny Marshall pushes all the usual buttons, deftly triggering both laughter and tears, a testament to her technical ability, if not her artistic craft.ĭrew Barrymore plays Beverly, a working class girl who, by age fifteen, has already mapped out her entire future with meticulous detail. Based on the memoir of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, Riding in Cars With Boys is a genuinely compelling story fashioned into a merely competent film.

Riding in Cars with Boys by Beverly Donofrio