Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 10/06/1989(USA)
Release Date: 10/26/1999
Sound: 2
Run Time: 104 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Substance Abuse (Alcohol, Drugs)
Distributor/Studio: Live/Artisan
The operative word in
Drugstore Cowboy is "drug".
Matt Dillon plays the leader of a group of dopeheads who wander around the country robbing pharmacies to feed their habits.
Dillon's chums include doltish
James Le Gros and teen-age junkie
Heather Graham; also along for the ride is
Dillon's wife
Kelly Lynch. Their nemesis is cop
James Remar, whom
Dillon takes perverse delight in humiliating. When one of the young addicts dies of an overdose, it promps
Dillon to try to go straight, a task complicated by wife
Lynch's determination to stay high and by the corrupting presence of an ex-priest, played by
Naked Lunch author
William Burroughs.
Drugstore Cowboy was director
Gus Van Sant's breakthrough picture.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
