Line #17 YMMV/RidingInCarsWithBoys


1	* HarsherInHindsight: The fact that Brittany Murphy and Skye [=McCole=] Bartusiak both died very young in real life, simply makes the scene of Fay and Amelia moving away much more heartbreaking.
2	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
3	** The final scene, [[spoiler:in which Bev reconciles with her father, as they both drive home together. What makes it all the more special is that they both sing along to the song "All I Have to do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers, just as they did at the beginning of the film]].
4	** Fay standing up for Bev during the wedding reception, where almost all of Bev's family members are there merely out of obligation, and clearly ashamed of her. While doing so, Fay even announces that she herself is also pregnant, and therefore shares her experiences of young motherhood with Bev, and continues to be the most loyal friend in Bev's life.
5	** While Bev certainly doesn't take motherhood gracefully, she still cares for her son, despite the fact that their relationship is difficult. On his 7th birthday, she gives him $20 (which was a lot at the time), since she wants him to be able to buy things that he likes for himself, and on top of that she writes him a card, which states "the plan for his future!"
6	** Jason ending up with Amelia- his best and closest friend since childhood, who understands what he's had to go through all those years. Bonus points since that their parents (Bev and Fay) have been close friends growing up as well.
7	* JerkassWoobie:
8	** Bev. Although she was a horrible mother to Jason and a real brat, her father's ([[AllOfTheOtherReindeer and society in general]]) treatment of her was awful, and even if he was nice to her, she and Ray should have never been together.
9	** Jason, while he is treated very harshly by his mother throughout his life, at times he too comes off as being rather bratty, especially when he rats both his mother and his best friend's mother out for drying weed (which they were only doing in order to sustain a better future, in spite of the fact that it was illegal).
10	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
11	** Tina. So much more could have been done with her than to just display her as TheOneWhoMadeItOut, such as a spotlight on her own home life, her relationship with her boyfriend turned fiancé and a more developed reaction to her best friends' pregnancy. Since they didn't, she ended up being a SatelliteCharacter.
12	** Bobby, Faye's husband. So much more could have been done to give him characterization beyond just being the angry, passionate guy who, out of the blue, cheats on Faye once in Vietnam and dumps her.
13	** Tommy, who obviously had a crush on Bev and only wanted better for her and for her to go to college (and had his whole role been so pointlessly thrown to the side, ''possibly'' could have made it more of a reality), was used so little that he may as well not even been included in the film. Instead, he was used as a quasi-other man that only Bev sort of cared about (plus, even though Jason was looking out for his mother, his flipping him off came off as more bratty than anything else).
14	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
15	** As sad as Beverly's life has been, she comes off as pretty unlikable throughout the film. Aside from her foolish decisions and getting with a guy like Ray, she's pretty neglectful and emotionally abusive towards Jason, who preferred his father over her; he may have been a lazy addict, but he was more affectionate and sensitive with him. Also, [[NeverMyFault nothing in her life ever seemed to be her fault]] (which Jason even lampshaded), and she suffered from a huge case of SmallNameBigEgo.

Context YMMV / RidingInCarsWithBoys