Product Details

• Actors: Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas, John C. Reilly, James LeGros, Skeet Ulrich
• Directors: Stacy Cochran
• Writers: Stacy Cochran, James Salter
• Producers: Erica Huggins, Paul Feldsher, Peter Frankfurt, Robert W. Cort, Rudd Simmons
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1997
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304202768
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,291 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Winona Ryder delivers an unusually delicate performance as Patty, a fragile "bad girl" with a reckless streak and a haunted conscience, in Stacy Cochran's promising but ultimately disappointing follow-up to his playful My New Gun. Lukas Haas is the smitten prep school senior who risks expulsion when he rescues Patty from a riding accident and hides her in his dorm room. Cochran draws tender, vulnerable performances from both actors and beautifully orchestrates the hormonally charged maelstrom in the corridors of the boys' dorm as rumors of the forbidden "older woman" spread like wildfire. It's the conventional, colorless stories that frame their relationship--she's on the run from the cops, he's slowly suffocating under the demands of a severe father--that fail them. Perpetually on the verge of something happening, Boys ends without delivering on the promise of the evocative atmosphere, lovely grace notes, and rich, unexpected performances. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas, John C. Reilly, James LeGros, Skeet Ulrich

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It Is What It Is..., July 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Boys [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Winona Ryder plays Patty Vare, a troubled young woman with a dangerous secret. Lukas Haas plays John Baker, a prep school student straining against the restrictive and highly rarified lifestyle forced upon him by his ambitious father. Patty recieves a visit from the police and immediately afterward goes for a ride, but in her distracted state of mind winds up falling off her horse. When Baker finds her unconscious in a field, he decides to take her back to his dorm room (Patty comes around just long enough to tell him "no doctors" then conveniently swoons again). While Baker's attempts to keep Patty safe from his marauding dormmates escalate, Patty periodically flashes back on the event that led to her hiding out in a dorm in the first place.

All of the actors in this film do a good job with what they have to work with. The cinematography is lovely. The plot, unfortunately, is thin, improbable and increasingly incoherent. This is not a film to watch for the sheer joy of witnessing marvelous storytelling. This is a film to watch when you're feeling nostalgic for the Gen X heyday of the mid-90's. Winona Ryder, with all of the opposites she is able to encompass (waifish and voluptuous, little-girl-lost and Charlie-girl-who-knows-what-she-wants, Prep School Queen and Goth Princess) is the ultimate Gen X heroine, and Haas, who is sensitive but edgy here, makes a good Gen X hero. The soundtrack is pure mid-90's alternative pop-rock -- soaring guitars and wistful lyrics, all performed by bands you've probably never heard of but whose members you probably have. The clothing and hairstyles worn by the actors scream "'90's!" as loudly as any John Hughes film heralds the '80's -- for instance, Patty starts the film wearing minimalist styles in somber colors but eventually puts on some of Baker's casual clothes and winds up looking grunge.

All things considered, the film's story is too confusing to be truly enjoyable, but the mood is palpable and might be enough to hold your attention on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Terrible story -- excellent time capsule.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ryder and Haas anchor the film with good performances..., November 2, 2005

By 

Mike Bolts (Superior, Wi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys (DVD)

Winona Ryder (Heathers, Mr. Deeds) winds up in the hands of school boy Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks!, Witness) after she falls off her horse and knocks herself unconscious in a field. Haas goes to an all boy school and he tries to hide her from his classmates...he doesnt like school. Ryder is hiding from the cops because their investigating on a baseball player named Bud Valentine, played by Skeet Ulrich (Scream, Chill Factor) and the last person to see him was Ryder and also threw the movie we see flashbacks from her night with Ulrich and what happened to him. Alright story has its lulls here and there but what anchors it is the performances by Haas and Ryder but the ending sorta is put on for a happy yay feeling which I didnt like. Also starring Chris Cooper (Jarhead, Adaptation), John C. Reilly (The Aviator, Dark Water), Catherine Keener (The 40 Yeard Old Virgin, Interpreter) and James LeGros (Near Dark, Just Looking).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Hard to Follow in Some Parts, February 4, 2003

By 

Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boys [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Winona Ryder stars in this film about a woman with a dark secret who meets and ultimately falls in love with a young prep school boy. Ryder stars as Patty Vare, a woman who was thrown from her horse while riding and knocked unconscious. She is discovered by two young boys from a local boys' prep school. The young boys get help from John "Sonny" Baker, an older boy at the school, played by Lukas Haas. Patty hides out in John's room while John does his best to keep her hidden from his friends and the administrators.

Unknown to John, Patty is hiding a dark secret. She was at a party the night before her riding accident and a police officer, played by John C. Reilly, has been coming around and asking a lot of questions. Patty was introduced to Bud Valentine (Skeet Ulrich). Bud is a star baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The two have a little too much to drink and end up stealing a car. Patty then sees a picture in the car and recognizes who the car belongs to from the picture. She decides that she wants out, and this is where the accident occurs.

Meanwhile, John has developed strong feelings for Patty. He takes one of the school's cars and they go to the county fair. However, officer Curry is there and he questions John about Patty. John talks to Patty about this, and Patty takes John to the scene of the accident. Later, the police take Patty to headquarters for questioning, along with John and his family. At the end, John and Patty leap into the elevator together and drive away.

I thought this movie was good overall, but I found it hard to follow. Patty's flashbacks to the party took away from the plot a little, and I didn't care for John's friends too much. I still think people would like this movie, it's just not one of Ryder's best works.