2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

grglmn This story grabs your heart and mind and won't let go from start to finish. Not only entertaining, but I was still thinking about it for days after I watched it. Annabella Sciorra should have gotten a supporting actress Oscar for her gut wrenching scene at the end. Probably the most moving scene I have seen in a movie.The child actors were great, the story moves along at just the right pace. I don't understand why this movie was not more critically and commercially successful.

sddavis63 This film was made at a time when there wasn't a great deal of knowledge about AIDS and as a result there was a lot of misinformation and fear about the disease. This was, therefore, a courageous film, dealing with a very delicate subject matter. Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) is an 11 year old suffering from AIDS that was transmitted through a blood transfusion. Because of the disease, he's isolated and has no friends, but he does have a loving and attentive mother (Annabella Sciorra.) After moving into a new neighbourhood, Dexter suddenly has a next door neighbour named Erik (Brad Renfro.) At first, Brad wants nothing to do with Dexter, but gradually they develop a close friendship, much to the displeasure of Erik's less than attentive mother (Diana Scarwid.)The movie revolves around the attempt by the two boys to travel form their home in Minnesota to New Orleans, where they've heard that a doctor has developed a cure for AIDS. We follow their adventure and their growing friendship along the way, until Dexter becomes too ill to continue, which leads to the sad conclusion of the movie.This is a moving story, which isn't built around action or excitement but rather revolves at a leisurely and low-key pace around the friendship between Erik and Dexter. It's a solid testimony to the importance of both friendship and hope, and the impact that both have, summed up by Dexter's mother near the end of the movie. When Erik laments that they hadn't found the cure, she tells him that they did, because before Erik appeared, Dexter's life had been sad, and Erik changed that. This isn't as much of a tearjerker as I thought it might be, but it's touching. (6/10)

pcmike So glad I have HBO right now. I didn't plan on watching a movie today, but when I got home and saw that the next movie on HBO was this one I decided (based on the description) to at least give it a shot. I'm so glad I decided to watch this movie! Maybe this movie just caught me at a vulnerable moment (I'm a little stressed out, got a huge test to be studying for), but it definitely gave me quite the perspective on friendship not to mention taught me a valuable lesson on empathy. I'm currently one year away from graduating from pharmacy school and the whole scene involving the doctor and the nurse was definitely a learning point for me!Anyhow, I just wanted to post up letting the world know this is an amazing movie and not to be missed. There is definitely something for everyone in this movie!

jay_zhead I had seen The Cure when I was a kid and I loved it then. Now, years later, I got a hold of a copy almost by accident, and watched it again. Being a kid, you don't really have the ability to procure things for yourself that you want, that is usually a prerogative of your parents - but when I watched it again now I felt sorry that I did not do more to get a copy of this movie back then, and consequently almost forgot about it until today.This really is a beautiful movie. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a hard-edged, misfit kid - who takes his cues from his horrible, abusive mother - and his neighbor, a slightly younger boy who has AIDS.Right, you say. Another one of "those". A tear jerker. A bucket movie. A morality tail. Yeah, I know, I hate those too. Only this one isn't. It is one of the very few movies among those many I have seen that pulls off a very rare trick: it conveys a truly sad story (and yes, a morality tale) but without a single moment where it feels cheesy, forced or in any other way "hollywoody". It shows a REAL relationship between two REAL boys, who interact as REAL kids do. And through that interaction the good-natured, loving character of the older boy, Eric, starts to shine through his "tough-guy" persona, as he takes on a kind of big-brotherly care for Dexter, his HIV-positive younger neighbor. Together, they embark on an adventure to find a cure - which to Erik seems to be just around the corner - so that all this silly AIDS thing will go away and they can be friends forever.The production is top notch. But, of course, what really carries this movie, is the performances of the two leads - Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello. Especially Mazzello, who is simply stunning - he does convey a sense of frailty needed for an ailing boy, but at the same time he manages to make Dexter a truly energetic and determined character. He shines at the scene where the boys confront Pony: his impulse to protect his older friend lunges him forth, drives him to say what he says - and only afterwards, the horror is depicted on his face, as he realizes that what he himself said is true: his blood is poison... Renfro also has his moments, in particular the scenes with his mother: he depicts perfectly how this macho, street-wise kid is left completely frozen and numb when faced with his abusive, storming mother, and can't get a word in to contradict her as she forbids his relationship with the ailing boy out of her fear and ignorance. Annabella Sciorra also gives a memorable performance as Dexter's mother, who ultimately becomes, in a sense, a mother figure to Erik as well.I've first seen this film when I was at school back in America, and loved it - not at all a given concerning movies of this sort. But the behavior of the kids in this movie was so real, I could easily relate to them. Ironically enough, the teacher who had shown us this movie (a wonderful woman, I'm still in touch with her) got in trouble for it, as some uptight parent complained about it having the scene when the two boys are looking at a Playboy... Pathetic. Seriously, will Americans ever get over this ridiculous phobia, I do not know. There was a hardly-distinguishable shot of a playboy cover in the movie and thus it is not shown in schools... how sad. Kids need to see this movie. It is more inspiring and educational than all the "official" after-school specials put together.Oh, and one more thing. I know I'm rambling, but nevertheless... The score. It's great. I am a musician, and as such I know Dave Grusin from his records: he is a well known Jazz pianist and record producer. Up until this movie I really did not know that he did movie scores as well, even though when I later checked I found out that I had unknowingly watched several movies he worked on. Really, a wonderful job there.All in all, a solid Ten. I'd recommend this movie to anyone. And I'm definitely going to see it with my younger siblings - they can use watching a film like this among all the standard special-effect hysteria they usually see.