Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 47

THE HAITKKD COUtANT; hide February 3, IMS E5 Road-trip plot of 'Boys on the Side' takes odd turns, veers off center wide-eyed to the news of Jane's sex- ual preferences or struggling to deal with an amorous bartender, gives this Ross-Roos collaboration even more heart and humanity than she brought to "Fried Green Tomatoes" (a key source for Barry-- more lends bubbly energy to wacky Holly. Except when singing, Gold-" berg seems oddly reserved as the more and more rueful Jane. But Anna uuierte taxes ciame inrougn some engaging transitions as the mother who leams to warm to her daughter. Estelle Parsons, on the other hand, gives a performance as sloppy as the wig on her fortunetell-" er's head. As for Maffhfw MrPnnaiitfhpv at Film review OVS ON THE SIDE dcted by Hwtwl Rom.

ran by Don Hoot. df ecioi pixxog-fajwy. Donald Ihonn. muac composad by David Nawmafl; production oasignar. Kan Aoam, aartad by Mwhaal Umt; podutaa by Arnon Mucftaa Stavan flaumar and Ron.

acuuva proouoa', flooa and Patricia aria rt A yvvnar B'O rataaaa of a La Studio Canal Ragancy Entarpriaaa and AJcor FUmj preaamation a Nam Ragancy Hi Produc-oon, opanng today at Cmama City, Hartlwd, and Snowcaaa Cnamai Barm Running una llOmnutaa. Jana DaLixa whoopi Goldberg Room Nicfcaraon Mary-Lwa Parkar Molly Ore Barrymon Aoa Lincoln Matmam MoConaughey Ema Anita Guiana Aiai Jamea Ramaf Louisa jteiia Partona Proaacutor Dannu Bouianj Eicanant; aaa Vary Good, Good, a Fa, a Poor Side" are Robin's reveries about a journey her family took long ago, before everything fell apart. These surreal flashbacks, inserted during the westward journey when the trio stops at a place from the past, resonate strikingly and also make the film a kind of voyage toward death. They also add to the crazy-quilt quality of this on-the-road, off-the-road picture. But Parker, whether reacting 7.

Lout Parker and Drew Barrymort stand trial. Then Robin's long-estranged mother, Elaine, shows up for some overdue bonding. Even the adobe hacienda where the trio settles in confers an air of unreality on the proceedings. The quaint, resort-like place looks more like a set for a Roy Rogers singing cowboy movie than a temporary home for three women sidetracked on their way to California. Robin, By MALCOLM JOHNSON Courani Film Critic Herbert Ross has proved himself a modern master of what used to be called "the woman'i picture." But teamed with writer Don Roos on "Boys on the Side." he falls short of his "Steel Magnolias" and "The Turning Point," despite Mary-Louise Parker's poignant and true performance as the tragic member of a trio of women friends.

Ross opens up with a smoky rendition of the Janis Joplin screamer "Piece of My Heart" by Whoopi Goldberg (following up on the singing career launched in "Sister Roos' screenplay then sends Goldberg's out-of-luck thrush, Jane DeLuca, out on the road with mousy Robin Nickerson, played with neurotic nose twitches by Parker. After motoring from Manhattan to Pittsburgh their eventual destination is California the sardonic lesbian Jane and the innocent heterosexual waif Robin pick up a wild child named Holly, endowed with playful, sexy flamboyance by bouncy Drew Barrymore. Initially, the tone feels so light and tart that one yearns for the verve of a director like Richard Lester, in his Beatles period. Roos even gives Goldberg a droll, sarcastic reaction to her sister travelers when she mutters that she is not about to drive over a cliff with this pair. Too soon, though, "Boys on the Side" turns schizophrenic, funny one minute, much darker the next.

When the trio reaches Tucson, Robin falls ill. Her comrades learn she is suffering from AIDS. But there continue to be jokey touches, including INTERSTATE 84 EXIT 58 SILVER lOftvi BRISTOL 8 589 From left, Whoopi Goldgerg, Mary the pregnant Holly's romance with a cop named Abe Lincoln. The plot by Roos (whose previous screenwriting credits include the da wdly "Love Field" and the bizarre "Single White takes other strange rums as well. Abe, learning that Holly is wanted for the murder of her abusive drug-dealer boyfriend back in Pittsburgh, cuffs her and sends her on her way back to LANE EAST HARTFORD 568-8810 7070 MNiimtiWkiKnuiot INTERSTATE 84, EXIT 58 SILVER LANE, EAST HARTFORD 568-8810 BARGAIN MATINEE MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY UNTH.

M. FIRST SHOW ONLY SUNDAY A HOLIDAYS NO PASSES AT STARRED FEATURES CONTINUOUS SHOWS DAILY LATE SHOWS FRIDAY 4 SATURDAY liFI'I'TifHLlMiiJ wiifliiviaiie. SURELY THE BEST Fiil.l IIJ jonrj oinFEriTERS "CARPENTER GIVES US GLIMPSES OF GORE 1 Suianna Hanovar star in "Boy on the Sida. who is presented before her sickness and in her remission as a real estate success who is also a peerless negotiator, has money, and Holly took a wad of drug money from her boyfriend's refrigerator. So they can probably afford the rent.

Jane seems to be making a few dollars playing at a local joint. Maybe haciendas come cheap in Tucson. Also complicating "Boys on the auUrukuesA. IrffiJeCy csKtrni aft ntn II AiHAAaBdai atkaaaaMifbakaB UwittvUfj cnarisaa. P' I'll 1 1.

KTM fat. a tfr mm iD WfEjtimEtt. 1 mtaetmt Hh1t umi i MWMfiMfY 6 frWf a ta afTT I I the honest but stupid Abe, James Remar as the barkeep who tries to nest with Robin and Dennis Boutsi- karis as a prosecutor tripped up at every turn, thev are strictly boys on the side. Even "Thelma and Louise" served up more fully developed male characters gxaicu iiin mm wniains ma emphasis on the humor ofnlgari- ties, including a litanv on the still-popular Middle English word for' the female sex organ, flashes of nudity, a fairly graphic sex se- quence and baseball-bat beating (played for humor). I 'An Insatiably Romantic And Exuberantly Witty Film Miiwia it muui Mil nm rllian KawLa juli Jalpjr Can tha grtatatl nmn a jraw Ha lail only ana ntghlf Before Sunrise ustaM mi tux Mmn Mrs a tm MMrra Of maowu am aa im wm MMfflltiami but MTt II avnaa tm tm TM aav af katM mi nrf I aMHWOT MMlMTt it -tl i 1 Am in tJ" auwM auaaot a tanaafMliaM mmrm mumtt Awn ten I mm mm win 0111 mnrmi tmim STARTS TODAY S33 jjjalMaalaJiarfl tii jrjfejfegf IN THE FIRSTJ 1 SlMIMI 4 la.iTM Jr I MiSm NktfiMt aw li'" zme ii" ate.

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