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Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

R  |   |  Crime, Drama  |  October 1989 (USA)
7.4
Your rating:
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 23,971 users   Metascore: 82/100
Reviews: 79 user | 40 critic | 15 from Metacritic.com

A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.

Director:

(as Gus Van Sant Jr.)

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay) (as Gus Van Sant Jr.) , 2 more credits »
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Title: Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Bob
...
...
...
Eric Hull ...
Druggist
...
David
...
John Kelly ...
Cop
...
Bob's Mother
George Catalano ...
Trousinski
Janet Baumhover ...
Neighbor Lady
Ted D'Arms ...
Neighbor Man
Neal Thomas ...
Halamer
Stephen Rutledge ...
Motel Manager
...
Drug Counselor
Edit

Storyline

A group of drug users in the 1970's help finance their habit by robbing drug stores. Matt Dillon's character is very superstitious and eventually his luck runs out. Written by Jason Ihle <jrihl@conncoll.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Genres:

Crime | Drama

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

October 1989 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A gyógyszertári cowboy  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,729,352 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Picked by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films" in a special supplement devoted to independent films that was only distributed to subscribers in October 1997. See more »

Goofs

The bus passes a riding arena with blue polyethylene barrels for "barrel riding". In 1971 they would have been steel. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Bob: I was once a shameless full-time dope fiend.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Home-video-style footage of the characters plays during almost the entire end credits. See more »


Soundtracks

TV Commercial Music
Written and Performed by Will Kaplan
See more »

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User Reviews

A great road movie. A great drug movie. A great black comedy. One of the best movies of the 1980s.
17 March 2003 | by (Perth, Australia) – See all my reviews

'Drugstore Cowboy' really knocked my socks off when I first watched it about 12-13 years ago, and it still impresses me every time I view it again. An unsentimental drug movie that doesn't resort to knee jerk moralizing, it is one of the very best movies of the 1980s, and still one of the best movies of its kind (Alison Maclean's underrated 'Jesus' Son' is one of the few recent movies to come close to it). Gus Van Sant looked like he was going to be one of the most exciting directors of the 1990s, but after the excellent 'My Own Private Idaho' it quickly proved not to be so, his career ending up with awful saccharine "uplifting" Hollwood dreck and his misguided remake of 'Psycho' that's best if we pretend never happened. Whatever he went on to make there's no denying that this is one brilliant movie. Matt Dillon gives one of his strongest and most complex performances, and he is backed up by an equally impressive supporting cast of Kelly Lynch (easily her best role), the wonderful James LeGros ('Floundering'), future sex symbol Heather Graham ('Boogie Nights'), and quirky character actor fave Max Perlich ('Truth Or Consequences, NM'). Also keep an eye out for the shoulda-been-a-star James Remar ('The Warriors') and a cameo by the legendary William S. Burroughs as "the Priest". 'Drugstore Cowboy' has energy, humour, depth and honesty. I love it. A wonderful movie and highly recommended.


25 of 37 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
100 Things I Learned From Drugstore Cowboy... NiKoDay
Was it really that easy to rob drugstores back in the day? sparrowtrece
Drugstore Cowboy vs. My Own Private Idaho LatteBoy13
Ambiguous ending jay-line
Hat on the bed.. stytown
Drugstore Sequel In The Works.... jakephall
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