| The Cure | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Peter Horton |
| Produced by | Eric Eisner |
| Written by | Robert Kuhn |
| Starring | Brad Renfro Joseph Mazzello Diana Scarwid Annabella Sciorra |
| Music by | Dave Grusin |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 21, 1995 |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $2,588,429 |
The Cure is a 1995 comedy-drama film starring Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello about two boys searching for the cure of AIDS, from which one of them is suffering. It was produced by Eric Eisner and Mark Burg.
Contents |
Set in a small town of Stillwater, Minnesota, Erik (Brad Renfro) is an adolescent loner with a vain and selfish workaholic mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid) who hardly spends time with him. Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) is his neighbor who lives behind Erik, who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. Initially, Erik is put off by Dexter, but the two soon become good friends despite their differences. Erik seeks a family in Dexter and his congenial mother, Linda (Annabella Sciorra), due to his strained relationship with Gail, but keeps the friendship a secret from her, knowing that she won't approve.
Gail discovers the friendship one night after Linda comes over to ask Erik about something Dexter ate in the boys' quest to find a natural cure for his disease. She is furious and warns Linda to keep Dexter away, showing that not only is she selfish and neglectful, but bigoted and somewhat racist. Linda, who resents Gail because of her ways, refuses to listen and encourages the friendship. When the boys read an article in a tabloid about a doctor in distant New Orleans who claims to have found a cure for AIDS, they set out on their own down the Mississippi River in the hope of finding a means of saving Dexter's life.
Initially, the boys start taking a boat down the river with a bunch of degenerates, but eventually steal their money (as they were never treated well by the group) and try to hitchhike the rest of the way. When the boatmen find that their money has been stolen, they locate the kids at a bus station and proceed to chase them until they reach a dead end in a dilapidated building. Erik draws a switchblade, causing one of the men to draw a knife as well. Dexter suddenly grabs the knife from Erik, and cuts his hand to cause himself to bleed. He threatens the boatman with his blood, saying that he has AIDS and could easily transfer the disease to him (the boatman has open wounds on his arm as a result of an injury received when chasing the boys). Dexter then chases the boatmen off, threatening them with his bleeding hand. Once the two men are gone, Dexter realizes what he has done in directly exposing his blood to the outside environment. He suddenly feels sick, so Erik helps to escort him back to the bus station. Realizing that their journey must end if Dexter is to be treated, Erik resorts to calling Linda to have her pick the boys up when they arrive on the bus in Stillwater.
Once they return, Dexter spends the rest of his time in the hospital. Erik stays with Linda, knowing that not only will Gail be angry, but would not let him visit Dexter in the hospital. Dexter and Erik prank the doctors three times that Dexter's dead. But when the third doctor arrives to check him, Dexter really is dead. While driving Erik home, Linda notices a mother holding her young child while crossing the street. With the child serving as a reminder of Dexter, she pulls over and breaks down crying. Erik apologizes to her, saying that he should have tried harder to find a cure. Linda, taken back by his comment, embraces Erik, explaining that he was the happiest thing in Dexter's difficult life. Upon arrival at home, they are confronted by a furious Gail, who believes that Erik had run away and Linda had helped him. When Gail starts to hit Erik, Linda quickly intervenes and asks to talk to her privately.
Once inside Linda's home, Gail's anger backfires when Linda pins her against the door and angrily and tearfully tells her about Dexter's death and that Erik is going to the funeral. She ends with threatening to kill Gail if she ever hits Erik again. Gail, finally realizing what her self-centered ways have done to Erik and how much the boys meant to each other, sadly complies.
At the funeral, Erik places one of his shoes in the coffin and takes one of Dexter's to let sail down the river (as earlier in the trip when Dexter's having nightmares, Erik told Dexter to hold one of his sneakers as a reminder that he's always by his side). This way, the shoes represent the boys' souls and their will to live.
The original soundtrack of the film was composed by Dave Grusin and released in the same year as the film. The song, called 'My Great Escape', was written and performed by Marc Cohn. However, this song has never been released on any media outside this movie.