Drugstore Cowboy Movie Review

Before there was Trainspotting and Ewan McGregor, there was Drugstore Cowboy and Matt Dillon. He's excellent here as a junkie trying to escape the drug scene, circa 1971. Delicately lovely teenager Heather Graham (the real-life daughter of an FBI agent, she later starred as Annie Black-burne on Twin Peaks) is the sacrificial lamb of the group, and the impetus for Matt's driving ambition to turn his life around. His girlfriend, well played by Kelly Lynch, finds it harder to leave the scene. Max Perlich played a similar role in 1991's Rush. William S. Burroughs, then 75, also makes an appearance. This scrupulously detailed study of drugstore thieves and junkies seems to deglamorize their lives without any intrusive commentary, but I've heard more than one former drug abuser say that this movie makes them homesick for the good old days, B.C. (Before Crack!).

1989 (R) 100m/C Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Remar, James LeGros, Heather Graham, William S. Burroughs, Beah Richards, Grace Zabriskie, Max Perlich; D: Gus Van Sant; W: Gus Van Sant, Daniel Yost; C: Robert Yeoman; M: Elliot Goldenthal. Independent Spirit Awards ‘90: Best Actor (Dillon), Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Perlich); Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ‘89: Best Screenplay; New York Film Critics Awards ‘89: Best Screenplay; National Society of Film Critics Awards ‘89: Best Director (Van Sant), Best Film, Best Screenplay. VHS, LV