Oh relax... that title is the feelings of one character in the brilliant Boys on the Side, in which Whoopi Goldberg plays a lesbian road-tripping with Mary-Louise Parker (the whitest white person Whoopi has ever seen, complete with Carpenter's tunes.)

You see, Parker is wanting to take a cross-country trip to relive childhood memories and places an add for someone to come with her. An add which is answered by Whoopi, a lesbian musician. The two initially seem to be direct opposites of each other. Along the way they pick up Drew Barrymore in a most hilarious scene of domestic violence. Drew baps her boyfriend upside the head with a baseball bat, we scream Hallejula! and off the three go.

While this one starts off funny as hell, it dares to tread many social issues, and does it brilliantly. While the scene of woman beating was comical, it aims true. Very true. So true it's eerie. Boys on the Side doesn't stop there though. We also have the aforementioned Gayness, aids (but not of the gay person), the Criminal Justice System, and friendships in general.

We also get a nice dose of Matthew McConaughey for good measure. hubba-hubba! In uniform, no less! Ok ok... I'll stop swooning now.. maybe. But oh those dimples of his! Dang, man. Here he is a pretty rigid cop, but you like him even if you think he's a bit ummmm dim at times. McConaughey was a good choice to pit against Barrymore. They had some real chemistry happening here, folks.

Whoopi is as you expect her to be, which is tough, witty, fun, sarcastic... but she also pulled off an extremely heart-wrenching scene close to the end that had me actually crying. I was in awe of her, and I'd swear those tears of hers were real. Not a phoney step here to be seen.

Parker and Barrymore are two of my faves anyway, this one just reinforced why that is. I mean Barrymore pretty much plays herself as always, but that self is fun, cuddly, giggly, troubled and just plain lovable. You want to adopt her and protect her... even as you're thinking you may need someone to protect you from her. heh. And Parker is pretty amazing here as the chick who appears at first to be a little naive waif. She shocks us a bit when she steps up to the plate and pulls out some impressive ammo to take control of the out-of-control situation.

Another thing about Parker is that she played the aids patient just oh so perfect. I mean to say, rather than go over the top and beat us over the head with her points (the script's points) she acted them out subtly. We got it. Oh we got it alright, and I was nodding to so hard my head shoulda fell off. I felt deeply for this character, and that is 100% attributable to Parker's delivery.

For a 1995 flick, it sure does hold up well today... and the points are still very valid, saddly. You would think 10 years later we as a people would have gotten a clue. Yeesh.

Boys on the Side is rated R in the USA, and Age 11 & up in Sweden. There is a little violence, a few panty shots, and a lot of cussing. I, of course, agree with Sweden.

I'm going the full 5 star route for this one and recommending it to everyone. It isn't just a chick flick. Pay attention. You might learn a thing or two...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brought to you as a late part of the annual Gay Pride write-off hosted by Jeff.
http://www.epinions.com/content_4763263108


Recommended:
Yes