Whoopi Goldberg plays Jane Deluca, a singer sacked from her crummy job in a New York nightclub who decides to head west. She answers a car-share ad placed by Robin and the pair set off. Along the way, they pick up ditzy blonde Holly Pulchik-Lincoln, Jane's friend, who's trapped in an abusive marriage but taking care of her husband leads the trio to believe they're in trouble with the law and the drive now becomes an escape. Herbert Ross' female-buddies road-movie develops the characters gently; Jane's gay but not aggressively so while Robin seems a softy who possesses an inner strength. The revelation is Barrymore, who makes Holly both maddening and endearing by turn and the film's climax is genuinely moving.
Boys on the Side is a Film programme that first aired in 1995 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
