Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

★ 7.1 1h 42m 606 votes IMDb
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Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Drugstore Cowboy

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Cast

Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon as Bob Age 62 · New Rochelle, New York, USA Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor and film director. He began his acting career in the late 1970s and quickly rose to fame as a teenage idol in the 1980s. Dil...
Kelly Lynch
Kelly Lynch as Dianne Age 67 · Golden Valley, Minnesota, USA Kelly Lynch (born January 31, 1959) is an American actress. Once a model for the Elite modeling agency, Lynch appeared in the film Drugstore Cowboy which starred Matt Dillon, and the film Road House w...
James Remar
James Remar as Gentry Age 72 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. Some of his best known film roles are as Ajax in The Warriors (1979), as homicidal maniac Albert Ganz in 48 Hrs. (1982), as Dutch Sch...
James Le Gros
James Le Gros as Rick Age 63 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA James Le Gros (/ləˈɡroʊ/) (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in Living in Oblivion..
Heather Graham
Heather Graham as Nadine Age 56 · Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Heather Graham (born January 29, 1970), a talented actor born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, rose to prominence for her captivating performances on screen. Her career took off with memorable roles in films...
Beah Richards
Beah Richards as Drug Counselor Died 2000 · Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA Beulah Elizabeth Richardson (July 12, 1920 – September 14, 2000), known professionally as Beah Richards, was an American actress and writer. Richards was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 7/10 Nov 09, 2025
I reckon this might be the best effort I’ve seen from Matt Dillon as his “Bob” leads a small group of drug addicts who have finessed the art of stealing prescription medication from pharmacies and hospitals alike before retreating to a motel room and an amiable haze of booze and sex. He’s accompanied on his adventures by his wife “Dianne” (Kelly Lynch) and his understudy “Rick” (James Le Gros) and his gal “Nadine” (Heather Graham) who is very, very, green. Of course, their antics have attracted the attention of law enforcement and wily detective “Gentry” (James Remar) is soon on their trail. Aware that they might be living on borrowed time, they flee their usual stomping grounds until a tragedy befalls the group and that has quite a profound effect on a “Bob” who may now be having his own Damascene moment. Is it all going to be too little, too late, though? Both the convincing Lynch and Dillon manage to imbue their roles with quite a degree of personality here; their characterisations are gritty and plausible and well supported by both the others and by a production design that offers us an uncomfortable glimpse into the lives of these (and potentially other) addicts. There’s plenty of pith from the dialogue and even though what they are doing is destructive and illegal, they still manage to illicit a degree of sympathy as things unfold in an almost pitiable fashion. It also takes quite a potent look at societal attitudes to addiction and ask questions about just what solutions we might suggest instead of incarceration and/or state imposed cold turkey.

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