Boys on the Side

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Boys on the Side

R

1995

1h 57m

Comedy

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

112 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), answers a personal ad from Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin's friend Holly (Drew Barrymore), who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

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Critics Consensus

Pack your bags and leave them Boys on the Side to experience the kind of sisterhood that makes you laugh and cry through the bumpy, quirky road of life.

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

03/15/2023

There's something strangely endearing about Boys on the Side. Perhaps it's the basic humanity woven into the movie's story, or the boundless optimism at its very heart.

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

03/15/2023

An engagingly acted, likable, fried green Thelma & Louise.

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Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

03/15/2023

3/4

Boys on the Side isn't a profound film or even, given the TV-movie nature of its "predicaments," an especially risky one. But it's solidly endearing in terms of emotion, humor and character.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

10/16/2023

3/4

...an amiable endeavor that benefits substantially from the top-tier efforts of its three stars...

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Sara Voorhees

Scripps Howard News Service

03/15/2023

I enjoyed every minute of it, and was moved to tears at least a dozen times. It's a brave movie, and it challenges the acceptability of prejudices that are the root of some of the most dangerous social problems of our time.

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Farah R.

@Farah Nov 29

Sad and sweet, yet also slow and boring, Boys on the Side isn’t bad if you have the patience to sit through it.

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Ricca S

@RT81925452 Sep 28

Definitely a very touching movie.

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Sarah H

@RT52043404 07/10/2025

I watched this back in high school when it came out, and here I am watching it again nearly 30 years later. This hits different as a middle age woman, and I'll tell you I cried for the entire second half of the movie. What a great movie centered around female strength and sisterhood. I just adore Whoopie and Mary Louise Parker in this one and fantastic Indigo Girls cameo.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 07/01/2025

Funny and successful pride in 1 hour and 57 minutes.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone 04/18/2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, mas o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e mais relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom.

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olive r

@RT47059699 06/17/2024

saddest lesbian movie ive watched but one of my new found favorites

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Herbert Ross

Director

Whoopi Goldberg

Jane

Mary-Louise Parker

Robin

Drew Barrymore

Holly

Matthew McConaughey

Abe

James Remar

Alex

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Synopsis

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), answers a personal ad from Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin's friend Holly (Drew Barrymore), who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

Director: Herbert Ross
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Steven Reuther, Herbert Ross
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: New Regency Pictures, Canal+, Regency Enterprises, Alcor Films
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 3, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.2M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Surround