Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

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

Director:

Gus Van Sant (as Gus Van Sant Jr.)

Writers:

James Fogle (novel), Gus Van Sant (screenplay) (as Gus Van Sant Jr.)

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros

12 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	Bob
Kelly Lynch	...	Dianne
James Le Gros	...	Rick
Heather Graham	...	Nadine
Eric Hull	...	Druggist
Max Perlich	...	David
James Remar	...	Gentry
John Kelly	...	Cop
Grace Zabriskie	...	Bob's Mother
George Catalano	...	Trousinski
Janet Baumhover	...	Neighbor Lady
Ted D'Arms	...	Neighbor Man
Neal Thomas	...	Halamer
Stephen Rutledge	...	Motel Manager
Beah Richards	...	Drug Counselor

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.

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Plot Keywords:

ambush | amphetamine | ashtray | bed | blood | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A gyógyszertári cowboy

Filming Locations:

Beacon Rock, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,729,352

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avenue Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was chosen by Premiere magazine as one of the "100 Movies That Shook the World" in their October 1998 issue. The list ranked the most "daring movies ever made."

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Goofs

The Portland skyline has buildings visible that were not built until the 1980s.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in Robot Chicken: Batman Forever 21 (2014)

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Soundtracks

TV Commercial Music
Written and Performed by Will Kaplan

User Reviews

Excellent story of a junkie who tries to straighten out his life, only to find out that things aren't much better than they were before.

Matt Dillon delivers one of the best performances of his career in Drugstore Cowboy, a gritty film about the real life of junkies. There is heavy drug content in this film, but in no way is the drug life glorified. We see the more realistic life of drugs on the streets, which is probably what makes this such an aesthetically unpleasing film. No one in the movie looks good, it has just about as much ugliness as a spectacularly ugly movie like Buffalo '66, which enhances the realism of the film. Much of the film is shot in a documentary style, giving it a gritty, realistic feel, almost like a twisted home movie.

Dillon plays the part of Bob, a young junkie in the early 1970s who goes around with his group of friends breaking into pharmacies and drug stores and stealing random bottles of prescription bottles looking for their next high. The movie starts at the end of the story, with Bob riding in an ambulance and telling us the story of how he got there, but has the pleasing distinction of not leading you exactly to where you knew you were going to be. Even by showing the end of the story there is nothing given away. This is a powerful drug film that doesn't hold anything back. It is not pretty to look at, but also like Buffalo '66, it's hideously unattractive counterpart, the movie has something to say.