Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

James Fogle (novel)
Gus Van Sant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A realistic road movie about a drug addict, his 'family', and their inevitable decline into crime.

Plot Keywords:

Drug | Motel | 1970s | Drugstore | Drug Addict

Awards:

10 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Matt Dillon	...	Bob
Kelly Lynch	...	Dianne
James LeGros	...	Rick (as James Le Gros)
Heather Graham	...	Nadine
Eric Hull	...	Druggist
Max Perlich	...	David
James Remar	...	Gentry
John Kelly	...	Cop
Grace Zabriskie	...	Bob's Mother
George Catalano	...	Trousinski
Janet Baumhover	...	Neighbor Lady
Ted D'Arms	...	Neighbor Man
Neal Thomas	...	Halamer
Stephen Rutledge	...	Motel Manager
Beah Richards	...	Drug Counselor

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Beacon Rock, Oregon, USA

Company:

Avenue Pictures Productions

Trivia:

Based on the writings of James Fogle, who was in reality a criminal and drug addict who robbed drugstores.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bob returns to his apartment, having given Father Tom the drugs Dianne brought him, it is clear that, as he walks the corridor, his apartment's door is open and light comes from inside. In the next shot, he opens the door to a dark apartment.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bob: I was once a shameless full-time dope fiend.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Quentin Tarantino/Smashing Pumpkins (#21.5)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

For All We Know

Excellent story of a junkie who tries to straighten out his life, only to find out that things aren't much better than they were before.

Matt Dillon delivers one of the best performances of his career in Drugstore Cowboy, a gritty film about the real life of junkies. There is heavy drug content in this film, but in no way is the drug life glorified. We see the more realistic life of drugs on the streets, which is probably what makes this such an aesthetically unpleasing film. No one in the movie looks good, it has just about as much ugliness as a spectacularly ugly movie like Buffalo '66, which enhances the realism of the film. Much of the film is shot in a documentary style, giving it a gritty, realistic feel, almost like a twisted home movie.

Dillon plays the part of Bob, a young junkie in the early 1970s who goes around with his group of friends breaking into pharmacies and drug stores and stealing random bottles of prescription bottles looking for their next high. The movie starts at the end of the story, with Bob riding in an ambulance and telling us the story of how he got there, but has the pleasing distinction of not leading you exactly to where you knew you were going to be. Even by showing the end of the story there is nothing given away. This is a powerful drug film that doesn't hold anything back. It is not pretty to look at, but also like Buffalo '66, it's hideously unattractive counterpart, the movie has something to say.