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 | Friendship | River | Tragedy | Boat

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: When Dexter's mum is asking Erik about his girlfriend, he has a tea towel in his hand. In the next shot, the tea towel has disappeared altogether.

Quotes:

Erik: [Erik and Dexter were placed on an island, roasting hot dogs] This sucks.
[His hot dog falls into the fire]
Erik: Dammit! This isn't fair!
Pony: What?
Erik: I said THIS SUCKS!
Pony: Ooh! "This sucks". "Gross, Man".

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

My Great Escape

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.