The Cure (1995)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Peter Horton

Writer (WGA):

Robert Kuhn (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Two boys found a way to make one summer last a lifetime.

Plot:

Dexter, age 11, who has AIDS, and his next door neighbor Eric, a little older and much bigger, become best friends...

Plot Keywords:

AIDS | Boy | Friendship | River | Medical

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Brad Renfro	...	Erik
Aeryk Egan	...	Tyler
Delphine French	...	Tyler's Girlfriend
Mona Powell	...	Tyler's Girlfriend
Andrew Broder	...	Tyler's Buddy
Jeremy Howard	...	Tyler's Buddy #2
Joseph Mazzello	...	Dexter
Annabella Sciorra	...	Linda
Diana Scarwid	...	Gail
Rosemary Corman	...	Elderly Woman in Street
Mychael T. Rambo	...	Garbageman #1 (as T. Mychael Rambo)
David Alan Smith	...	Garbageman #2
Delia Jurek	...	Angry Woman
Fran Korba	...	Elderly Women in Market
John Carroll Lynch	...	Skipper #1 (as John Lynch)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for emotional thematic elements, and for language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #33731) | Australia:PG | UK:12 | South Korea:12 | Germany:6 (bw) | Spain:7 | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Divine Redeemer Hospital - 724 19th Avenue N., South St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Island World

Trivia:

The opening credits feature the track 'My Great Escape' by Marc Cohn. However, this track was not released on any medium other than the movie itself.

Goofs:

Continuity: At about 31 minutes in, Erik is seen gluing and smacking a leaf into their logbook, a reverse shot then shows three leaves with notes, another reverse shot and again one leaf.

Quotes:

Erik: [fake crying] Doctor, my friend... I think he is dead, and I don't know what to do...

Movie Connections:

Features Medicine Man (1992)

Soundtrack:

My Great Escape

One of the few films that manages to be touching without being cheesy

I had seen The Cure when I was a kid and I loved it then. Now, years later, I got a hold of a copy almost by accident, and watched it again. Being a kid, you don't really have the ability to procure things for yourself that you want, that is usually a prerogative of your parents - but when I watched it again now I felt sorry that I did not do more to get a copy of this movie back then, and consequently almost forgot about it until today.

This really is a beautiful movie. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a hard-edged, misfit kid - who takes his cues from his horrible, abusive mother - and his neighbor, a slightly younger boy who has AIDS.

Right, you say. Another one of "those". A tear jerker. A bucket movie. A morality tail. Yeah, I know, I hate those too. Only this one isn't. It is one of the very few movies among those many I have seen that pulls off a very rare trick: it conveys a truly sad story (and yes, a morality tale) but without a single moment where it feels cheesy, forced or in any other way "hollywoody". It shows a REAL relationship between two REAL boys, who interact as REAL kids do. And through that interaction the good-natured, loving character of the older boy, Eric, starts to shine through his "tough-guy" persona, as he takes on a kind of big-brotherly care for Dexter, his HIV-positive younger neighbor. Together, they embark on an adventure to find a cure - which to Erik seems to be just around the corner - so that all this silly AIDS thing will go away and they can be friends forever.

The production is top notch. But, of course, what really carries this movie, is the performances of the two leads - Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello. Especially Mazzello, who is simply stunning - he does convey a sense of frailty needed for an ailing boy, but at the same time he manages to make Dexter a truly energetic and determined character. He shines at the scene where the boys confront Pony: his impulse to protect his older friend lunges him forth, drives him to say what he says - and only afterwards, the horror is depicted on his face, as he realizes that what he himself said is true: his blood is poison... Renfro also has his moments, in particular the scenes with his mother: he depicts perfectly how this macho, street-wise kid is left completely frozen and numb when faced with his abusive, storming mother, and can't get a word in to contradict her as she forbids his relationship with the ailing boy out of her fear and ignorance. Annabella Sciorra also gives a memorable performance as Dexter's mother, who ultimately becomes, in a sense, a mother figure to Erik as well.

I've first seen this film when I was at school back in America, and loved it - not at all a given concerning movies of this sort. But the behavior of the kids in this movie was so real, I could easily relate to them. Ironically enough, the teacher who had shown us this movie (a wonderful woman, I'm still in touch with her) got in trouble for it, as some uptight parent complained about it having the scene when the two boys are looking at a Playboy... Pathetic. Seriously, will Americans ever get over this ridiculous phobia, I do not know. There was a hardly-distinguishable shot of a playboy cover in the movie and thus it is not shown in schools... how sad. Kids need to see this movie. It is more inspiring and educational than all the "official" after-school specials put together.

Oh, and one more thing. I know I'm rambling, but nevertheless... The score. It's great. I am a musician, and as such I know Dave Grusin from his records: he is a well known Jazz pianist and record producer. Up until this movie I really did not know that he did movie scores as well, even though when I later checked I found out that I had unknowingly watched several movies he worked on. Really, a wonderful job there.

All in all, a solid Ten. I'd recommend this movie to anyone. And I'm definitely going to see it with my younger siblings - they can use watching a film like this among all the standard special-effect hysteria they usually see.