Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

deickos If it was not for this detail the movie would have been nothing special. But this changes everything - Bob finally gets it that you can fool the system but not some forces beyond and behind it. It is in fact a search for limits in this life and this world that the whole drug thing is about. And Bob understands that but will he survive? That is the question.

avik-basu1889 I have always been of the opinion that if one wants to get a basic idea of the Flower Movement and the spirit of non-conformism that engulfed the thoughts and minds of the western youth during the 1960s and 1970s, he/she just has to watch the documentaries 'Woodstock' and "Gimme Shelter' as a double feature. 'Woodstock' shows the young people enjoying themselves with talented artists and ridding themselves of the clutches of the rigid societal norms while the spirit of peace and love hangs in the air. Then we move to 'Gimme Shelter', it just feels like the evil twin sibling of 'Woodstock'. 'Gimme Shelter' just showcases the same ideals of freedom and non-conformism being abused and misinterpreted leading to absolute hooliganism and extremely regrettable consequences.The characters in 'Drugstore Cowboy' could have attended either of the two music festivals covered in the two aforementioned documentaries respectively, but there certainly exists a stronger thematic link between the characters in 'Drugstore Cowboy' and 'Gimme Shelter'. Bob and his gang are basically wanderers with no permanent address. In a world devastated by social upheavals and political chaos, these characters are lost and have no self identity. But they are still influenced by the youth rebellion and revolts and hence they don't want to conform, they'll do anything that they want without having to be answerable to anyone. Unfortunately all that they want to do is rob drugstores and get high.The film focuses on a small group of youngsters with Bob being their leader. There's his wife Dianne and the slightly younger couple Rick and Nadine. They wander from drugstore to drugstore and come up with new and inventive ways to steal the drugs. They really have no other motive in life and are not ambitious at all. They hate the customs of 'normal' life and want to distance themselves as far as possible from societal rules. Bob and Diane evens mention some superstitions which are nothing but symbols of their insecurity and fear of society catching up with them. Bob's character in this film is somewhat similar to Michael Fassbender's character Brandon in 'Shame'. They are deeply addicted to drugs and sex respectively. Bob is always thinking and fantasising about the next score and the next high, while Brandon is always thinking about the next orgasm. Having said all that, it is a tribute to Gus Van Sant's skills as a storyteller that the characters are still humanised and well developed. The screenplay co-written by Gus Van Sant, William S. Burroughs and Daniel Yost which is based on a then unpublished novel by James Fogle avoids exploiting the characters and the circumstances to generate comedy which I thought some scenes in 'Trainspotting' were guilty of. 'Drugstore Cowboy' is more in the same vein as something like 'Requiem for a Dream' where the director doesn't shy away from depicting the pathetic nature of the lives of the characters and makes them do some very objectionable things, but in the end still manages to make the viewer care about them. The only major problem that I had with the film was the somewhat overly quick change that takes place in Bob's character at the midway point of the film. The explanation for the shift was given, but I would have liked Bob to go through such a transition in a more gentle and gradual manner.Roger Ebert in his review correctly noted that 'Drugstore Cowboy' shares a thematic and stylistic resemblance with some of the other great outlaw road movies like 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Bonnie and Clyde'. To some extent some scenes even reminded me of Scorsese's Mean Streets. Acting wise, Matt Dillon is the shining star. Others put in good performances too, but it is Dillon who carries the film on his shoulders. His masculine charm and appeal reminded me of Stallone in the first Rocky. But even with the charm, Dillon still manages to exude vulnerability and depth to a character who is struggling to find his place in the world.The ending to the film is rich with irony. It clearly establishes how life can be so unpredictable, mysterious and harsh. The characters in the film clearly took up drugs and their lifestyle to escape the unpredictability and the harshness of real life, but they forgot that life's realities always have a way of catching up with you no matter how hard you try to escape them.

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting), I am sure that I tried of few minutes of this film and got bored, but having remembered the title for so long I was definitely willing to give it more of a chance. Basically highly suspicious Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon) and his wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch) are drug addicts, and are love doing various pharmaceutical drugs, like dilaudid, morphine and cocaine, and keep their habit going they and another couple often steal from pharmacies. They are aware a police officer is getting too close for comfort for them, so they move their operation to another town, but it isn't long after doing this that one of the crew overdoses and dies. They unintentionally have checked into a hotel where a sheriff's convention is taking place, but they do have to move the body from out of the hotel room to into their car, they narrowly avoid getting caught doing this. Believing his warnings is what caused the incident Bob decides he does need help, but he is too scared to join any methadone or any kind of drug eliminating program. Worse comes when junkies he saw earlier ambush his apartment and try to score drugs, and having decided to go straight he doesn't have anything for them to take, so they beat up and then shoot him, but in the end he lives long enough for an ambulance to take him away. Also starring James Remar as Gentry, James Le Gros as Rick, Heather Graham as Nadine, Beah Richards as Drug Counselor, Grace Zabriskie as Bob's Mother and Max Perlich as David. Dillon does well as the junkie who finds it very difficult to let go of his addiction and then later to even try to kick it, I admit I didn't feel as enraptured in this story like I did with Trainspotting, but the drug taking culture is definitely emphasised, not in a judgemental way, and there is interesting provocative material, so all in all it is a worthwhile drama. Very good!

tieman64 Gus Van Sant continues to dissect the American myth with "Drugstore Cowboy", a film which finds a character called Bob (Matt Dillon) attempting to lift himself out of a lowly lifestyle composed primarily of drugs and theft.But the aim here is not only to paint a portrait of a life hopelessly dependent on (or enslaved to) chemical gratification, but to lay bare the fiction of self-determination, a myth in which many Americans deludedly believe. As Bob mournfully says, all he can do is "try his best and see what happens". His life is so far out of his hands that it is practically somebody else's life, a fact which he observes throughout the film."Drugstore Cowboy" ends on an ambiguous note. After much toil and many attempts to reform, Bob finds himself being rushed to a hospital in an ambulance. Whether he lives or dies is left up to the audience. His fate, as always, is in somebody else's (ours) hands.8/10 – Too familiar and conventional to be great, too honest to be dismissed as typical Hollywood fare. Worth one viewing.