Boys on the Side Movie Review

『A Journey of Wounds, Healing, Friendship, and Love Among Three Women』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Boys on the Side (1995)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Road Movie / Queer
📢 Director: Herb Ross
🖋️ Screenplay: Based on the novel by Dan Shore

👩‍💼 Cast: Whoopi Goldberg – Jane
Mary-Louise Parker – Robin
Drew Barrymore – Holly

🧩 Deep Story Exploration (Spoilers)

🚗 A Road Trip Carrying Life’s Pain and Scars

The film follows three women, each with different backgrounds and wounds, who embark on a cross-country road trip from New York to California, during which they build friendship and eventually find a new home in Tucson, Arizona.

• Jane is a cynical nightclub singer and a lesbian who often falls for people she cannot have, carrying deep emotional scars. Within the group, she maintains the most practical and grounded attitude, serving as the anchor and protector for the trio.
• Robin was once a successful real estate agent but is now a woman living with AIDS. Although she appears fussy and high-strung on the surface, she is warm-hearted. Robin becomes the emotional center of the group, finding new friendship and love even as she faces death, profoundly impacting those around her.
• Holly is a victim of domestic violence from her drug-addicted boyfriend—innocent yet unstable, longing for a “good man.” Fleeing a violent situation, she becomes the catalyst that triggers the trio’s crisis, while also symbolizing hope for renewal and personal growth.

Despite their different pasts and traumas, the three women rely on one another and form a “chosen family” that transcends blood ties.

💖 “Chosen Family” and Undefined Love

🤝 Redefining Sisterhood

• From Road Movie to Settlement: At first, the film seems like a female buddy road movie similar to Thelma & Louise. However, after becoming involved in an accidental killing during a domestic violence incident, the three settle in Tucson, Arizona, forming a temporary communal life.
• A New Kind of Family: Though not bound by blood or marriage, they embrace one another’s wounds and vulnerabilities, becoming a genuine family. Through Robin’s declining health, Holly’s pregnancy, and Jane’s loneliness, they practice unconditional generosity and care—supporting each other through life’s hardest moments.

💉 AIDS Confession and the Test of Friendship

• The Fear of the 1990s: In 1995, AIDS still carried an enormous social stigma. Robin’s illness serves as the film’s central emotional weight. She initially hides her condition, but eventually confides in Jane and Holly, building trust between them.
• Jane’s “Betrayal” and the Pain of Growth: Out of protective instinct, Jane unintentionally “outs” Robin’s HIV status to a bartender Robin was interested in. Though done from care, this act becomes the story’s greatest test of friendship, representing a form of non-consensual outing and highlighting the social prejudice and suffering they must endure together.

👩‍❤️‍👩 Undefined Love and Queer Narrative

• Jane’s Unrequited Love: As a lesbian, Jane’s unreturned affection for the heterosexual Robin forms the most heartbreaking emotional axis of the film. In particular, the scene where Jane sings the Carpenters’ “Superstar” solely for Robin expresses a love that transcends simple friendship—a song of devotion and tenderness.
• The Inclusiveness of Love: The film treats Jane’s sexuality as natural and unforced, yet ultimately defines love as “friendship love”. Even without a romantic outcome, it illustrates how love and friendship can deepen beyond sexual boundaries, marking an important step forward for queer cinema in the 1990s.

⭐ Overall Review: A Female Drama Ahead of Its Time

Boys on the Side was sometimes criticized for its melodramatic turns—its cascade of events involving escape, illness, and trial in the latter half. Yet the sincerity and emotional authenticity of performances by Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, and Drew Barrymore more than compensate for any flaws.

The film ultimately proves that the friendship among these three women becomes the most powerful force enabling them to overcome every crisis and pain—the true meaning of “Boys on the Side.” Transcending race, sexuality, health, and class, their solidarity redefines the meaning of “family” and “love,” making this film a groundbreaking work that was ahead of its time in 1995.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★