Boys On the Side- Herbeert Ross

'A woman can laugh and cry in three seconds and it's not weird. But if a man does it, it's very disturbing. The way I'd describe it is like this: I have been allowed inside the house of womanhood, but I feel that they wouldn't let me in any of the interesting rooms'- Rob Schneider

Boys On the Side is a heart-warming drama that explores the themes of self-discovery and the bonds between women. Director Herbert Ross presents us with a romance comedy with very real emotion, where the characters must learn how to help and be helped by those who care for them.



Jane (Whoopi Goldburg), an unsuccessful singer, answers an ad in the paper to join Robin (Mary Louise Parker), a prim and proper real estate agent, on a road trip to Tuscan. On the way Jane drops in on a friend, Holly (Drew Barrymore) who is in an abusive relationship with drug addict and dealer, Nick. When Jane wants to take Holly away from Nick, he intervenes with his violent ways which forces Holly to strike him over the head with a baseball bat, essentially knocking him unconscious. We later discover the blow has killed Nick. The three women are now forced on the road together on the run from manslaughter, on the way they learn to come to terms with their own personal dramas.



Jane is a black, gay woman who struggles with her love for heterosexual Robin who is battling with AIDS. Ross deals with the issue of AIDS in straight, white women as apposed to black men who are at the highest risk and are the most known, group of people to contract the disease. Pregnant Holly is oblivious to the extremity of her manslaughter and is the ‘dits’ of the three. Their contrasting difference in personalities makes for an interesting relationship.

This film is a classic ‘chick flick’ demonstrating the strengths of womanhood I recommend it highly.