Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Rachel
Jun 8
2 min read

Updated: Jun 9

To start this review off with complete honesty, I had never heard of this movie before watching it. I found a list of all films in the Criterion Collection on Letterboxd and had the site sort the movies based on films I had previously liked. I then pulled up a random number generator website, put in 1-100 so I wouldn’t be scrolling down the list for hours, and clicked go. The site gave me number 77, so back to Letterboxd I went. Of course, this particular list did not number the films so I counted in fives and eventually landed on Drugstore Cowboy. I saw Matt Dillon on the cover so I was perfectly fine with that. Once a Dally Winston girl, always a Dally Winston girl. After watching this film I’ve officially decided that Dally never died in The Outsiders, but instead ran away to Portland, Oregon and robbed drugstores with his junkie wife.

Moving on to the part where I actually review the film, I liked it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved it, but there’s no way I’d say I didn’t like it. It had an engaging plot– I mean what’s not interesting about a group of mid-20s addicts running from the cops after stealing large amounts of prescription drugs multiple times? I think each of their characters– Bob, Diane, Rick, and Nadine– could have been a bit more thought out. With the occasional exception for Bob, there wasn’t much substance for their characters. I also felt as though Bob’s change of heart and decision to get clean came out of nowhere. I am assuming that even to Bob this choice was a spontaneous and abrupt one.

Small disclaimer here, I am not an addict and know very few people who have struggled with addiction. All of the media I have consumed surrounding drugs will never be enough to fully understand it. I will say, the scene where Bob and Diane are in their living room and she is trying to get his attention and be intimate with her own husband, yet he is just rambling on and on about what drugstore they should hit next and essentially how he is fiending for more drugs, really stood out to me. People say addiction can consume your entire mind, and this scene did a good job of showing that.

Obviously, this review barely scratched the surface of what goes on in this film. I didn’t even mention the hat on the bed, which would make Bob happy I suppose. Overall, I enjoyed the plot of this film more than anything else. The characters aren’t ones you should expect to get attached to or feel like you know, unless you relate to them more than I do.