The Cure (1995)

Dexter, age 11, who has AIDS, and his next door neighbor Eric, a little older and much bigger, become best friends. Eric also becomes closer to Dexter's mother than to his own, who is ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Horton

Writer:

Robert Kuhn

Stars:

Brad Renfro, Aeryk Egan, Delphine French

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
T. Mychael Rambo	...	Garbageman #1
David Alan Smith	...	Garbageman #2
Delia Jurek	...	Angry Woman
Fran Korba	...	Elderly Women in Market
John Carroll Lynch	...	Skipper #1 (as John Lynch)

Storyline

Dexter, age 11, who has AIDS, and his next door neighbor Eric, a little older and much bigger, become best friends. Eric also becomes closer to Dexter's mother than to his own, who is neglectful and bigoted and violently forbids their friendship upon learning of it. When they read that a doctor in distant New Orleans claims to have found a cure for AIDS, the boys leave home on their own, planning to float down the Mississippi river and find him.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | river | terminal illness | suspected homosexual | medical | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cura

Filming Locations:

805 1st Street South, Stillwater, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,568,429 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Island World, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening credits feature the track 'My Great Escape' by Marc Cohn. A prelude is also heard later in the movie. However, this track was not released on any medium other than the movie itself.

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Goofs

When Erik and Dexter find Pony's stash of money, it's full of twenties. The next day, when Erik steals it, it's full of ones.

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Quotes

Linda: [Grabbing Gail by her blouse and backing her into the wall] I want to tell you two things. The first is Erik's best friend died today and he is going to the funeral.
Linda: [struggling] And the second is if you ever lay a hand on that boy again I will kill you! Do you understand?

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Crazy Credits

Renée Humphrey's character was named 'Angel', although her tattoo was misspelled as 'Angle', so she's credited as the latter instead of 'Angel'.

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Connections

Features 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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Soundtracks

"My Great Escape"
Written and Performed by Marc Cohn

User Reviews

Although fictional, very realistic tale of a childhood friendship complicated by AIDS

Unbelievably close to real life feelings and emotions captured by Joseph Mazzello as a hemophiliac child affected by AIDS and his new young neighbor, a wanna-be tough redneck played to perfection by Brad Renfro. Although the story may seem slightly farfetched (the two boys attempt to river-raft several hundred miles to find a doctor who claims to have the cure to AIDS), the emotion, actions and interactions of all characters involved are tragically close to real life. Being a "big brother" to a boy in a similar situation who died a few years after this film was released, I strongly recommend this picture to anyone who has ever wondered what really happens in the life of a child with AIDS. Superb direction by Peter Horton creates the perfect mood and setting for each scene and draws the viewer into the various emotions affected by friendship, illness, prejudice and the final parting of two friends who fought hard to overcome adversity.