The Cure (1995 film)

The Cure
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Horton
Produced by	Mark Burg Eric Eisner
Written by	Robert Kuhn
Starring	Brad Renfro Joseph Mazzello Diana Scarwid Annabella Sciorra
Music by	Dave Grusin
Cinematography	Andrew Dintenfass
Edited by	Anthony Sherin
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	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 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.

Plot

Set in a small town of Stillwater, Minnesota, Erik (Brad Renfro) is an adolescent loner with an emotionally abusive and neglectful and selfish workaholic mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid) who hardly spends time with him. His father, who treated Erik considerably better than his mother, lives in New Orleans. Dexter (Joseph Mazzello), who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, is Erik's neighbor. Initially, Dexter is put off by Erik, but they become both 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 Erik keeps the friendship a secret from her, knowing that Gail 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, but Linda, who resents her, 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 she will 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 aback 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. 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 and report her abuse and neglect of Erik to Child Protective Services if she ever hits Erik again and to which Gail guiltily 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.

Cast

• Brad Renfro as Erik
• Joseph Mazzello as Dexter
• Diana Scarwid as Gail
• Annabella Sciorra as Linda
• Aeryk Egan as Tyler
• Nicky Katt as Pony
• Renee Humphrey as Angle
• Bruce Davison as Dr. Jensen
• Andrew Broder as Tyler's Friend #1
• Jeremy Howard as Tyler's Friend #2

Soundtrack

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.

External links

• The Cure at the Internet Movie Database
• The Cure at AllMovie
• The Cure at Box Office Mojo