Drugstore Cowboy is a 1989 crime drama directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost, based on a novel by James Fogle.
Matt DillonMatthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
stars in the title role, and
Kelly LynchKelly Lynch is an American actress. Once a model for the Elite modeling agency, Lynch appeared in the film Drugstore Cowboy which starred Matt Dillon, and the film Road House which starred Patrick Swayze....
, Heather Graham, and
William S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
are also featured.
Drugstore Cowboy was filmed mainly around
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The film's score was written by composer
Elliot GoldenthalElliot Goldenthal is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways...
.
Drugstore Cowboy was Van Sant's breakthrough picture.
Drugstore Cowboy was listed on the top ten list of both
Gene SiskelEugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
and
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
for films released in 1989. The film was very well received critically.
Plot
The story follows Bob Hughes (
Matt DillonMatthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
) and his "family" of drug addicts as they travel across the US
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
in the early 1970s, supporting their habit by robbing pharmacies and hospitals. After a tragedy strikes the "family", Bob decides to try to "go straight," but finds that there is more to extricating himself from the drug user's lifestyle than just giving up drugs.
Cast
- Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
as Bob Hughes
- Kelly Lynch
Kelly Lynch is an American actress. Once a model for the Elite modeling agency, Lynch appeared in the film Drugstore Cowboy which starred Matt Dillon, and the film Road House which starred Patrick Swayze....
as Dianne
- James Le Gros
James LeGros is an American film and television actor. He is known as a star of independent films with a diversified body of work in the early to mid 1990s.-Personal life:...
as Rick
- Heather Graham as Nadine
- Max Perlich
-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...
as David
- James Remar
James Remar is an American actor and voice artist. He has appeared in movies, video games, and TV shows. He is perhaps best known as Richard, the on-off tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character in Sex and the City, as Ajax in The Warriors, as the homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in the 1982...
as Gentry
- Grace Zabriskie
Grace Zabriskie is an American actress. She has appeared in many popular American films but, she is best known for her work in television. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks, Seinfeld, and Big Love.-Early life:Zabriskie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana...
as Mrs. Hughes
- William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
as Tom
Literary source
The screenplay by Van Sant and Yost is based on a then-unpublished autobiographical novel by
James FogleJames Fogle is the author of the autobiographical novel Drugstore Cowboy, which became the basis for the film of the same name. Fogle was in prison at the time of the film's release in 1989. He has been in trouble with the law many times since the film's release. On May 27, 2010, Fogle was...
. The novel was published in 1990 (ISBN 0-385-30224-X)
Drugstore Cowboy, by which time Fogle was released from prison. Fogle, like the characters in his story, was a long-time drug user and dealer.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes songs that are contemporaneous with the film's setting, along with original music by
Elliot GoldenthalElliot Goldenthal is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways...
.
Awards
Drugstore Cowboy won the following awards:
- L.A. Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
(1988) — Best Screenplay (Dan Yost, Gus Van Sant)
- National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
(1988) — Best Film, Best Director
- Independent Spirit Award (1989) — Best Actor (Matt Dillon), Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Max Perlich)
- New York Film Critics Circle (1989) — Best Screenplay
External links