View source for Drugstore Cowboy

{{Short description|1989 film by Gus Van Sant}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Drugstore Cowboy
| image          = Drugstore Cowboy.png
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Gus Van Sant]]
| producer       = {{unbulleted list|[[Karen Murphy (producer)|Karen Murphy]]|Cary Brokaw|[[Nick Wechsler (producer)|Nick Wechsler]]}}
| screenplay     = Gus Van Sant<br />Daniel Yost
| based_on       = {{Based on|''Drugstore Cowboy''|[[James Fogle]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Matt Dillon]]
* [[Kelly Lynch]]
* [[James Remar]]
* [[James LeGros]]
* [[Heather Graham]]
* [[William S. Burroughs|William Burroughs]]
}}
| music          = [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
| cinematography = [[Robert Yeoman]]
| editing        = {{unbulleted list|Mary Bauer|Curtiss Clayton}}
| distributor    = {{unbulleted list|[[International Video Entertainment]]|Avenue Pictures}}
| released       = {{Film date|1989|09|11|[[Toronto International Film Festival|Toronto Film Festival]]|1989|10|06|United States}}
| runtime        = 101 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $2.5 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite web| url = https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=drugstorecowboy.htm| title = Drugstore Cowboy| work = [[Box Office Mojo]]| archive-date = December 23, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111223130211/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=drugstorecowboy.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>
| gross          = $4.7 million<ref name="BOM" />
}}
'''''Drugstore Cowboy''''' is a 1989 American [[black comedy film]]<ref name=chicagotribune/><ref name=lat>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-29-ca-518-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=October 29, 1989|title=Matt Dillon's Riding High Again : Black comedy 'Drugstore Cowboy' changes actor's image from teen-mag idol to adult movie star|last=Goldstein|first=Patrick|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241218064757/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-29-ca-518-story.html|archive-date=December 18, 2024}}</ref> directed by [[Gus Van Sant]]. Written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost and based on an [[autobiographical novel]] by [[James Fogle]], the film stars [[Matt Dillon]], [[Kelly Lynch]], [[James LeGros]], and [[Heather Graham]]. It features supporting performances from [[James Remar]], [[Max Perlich]], [[Grace Zabriskie]], and [[William S. Burroughs]]. Based on the then-unpublished novel of the same name by [[James Fogle]], it follows a group of nomadic drug addicts in 1971 [[Portland, Oregon]]. It was Van Sant's second film as director, following his 1988 debut ''[[Mala Noche]].''

Principal photography of ''Drugstore Cowboy'' took place in Portland in the fall of 1988. The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 6, 1989. It received significant acclaim from film critics, with praise for its performances, realistic portrayal of drug addiction, and its dark humor. It received numerous accolades from film critic associations, including three nominations and four wins at the [[5th Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit Awards]]. In the years since its original release, the film has developed a [[cult film|cult following]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/drugstorecowboy.html|work=[[Filmsite]]|title=Drugstore Cowboy (1989)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703060535/https://www.filmsite.org/drugstorecowboy.html|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-review/|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|title=Drugstore Cowboy Review|date=January 1, 2000|last=McIlheney|first=Barry|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703060654/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-review/|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref>

== Plot ==
In 1971 [[Portland, Oregon]], 26-year-old Bob Hughes leads a nomadic group of drug addicts—his wife Dianne, his best friend Rick, and Rick's teenage girlfriend Nadine—who travel across the [[Pacific Northwest]] robbing pharmacies and hospitals to support their habits.

After stealing from a neighborhood pharmacy, they drive home to get [[Substance intoxication|high]], and are visited by David, a local low-life seeking hard-to-find [[Hydromorphone|Dilaudid]]. Bob claims they have none, but offers to trade him [[morphine]] for [[amphetamine|speed]]. Initially reluctant, David is persuaded to trade and leaves. Later, police officers led by Detective Gentry, who correctly assumes the group is responsible for the pharmacy robbery, raid and wreck their apartment in an unsuccessful search for the stolen drugs, which Dianne has buried outside.

After moving to another apartment, Bob realizes that Gentry has the group under surveillance. Bob proceeds to devise an elaborate ruse which results in one of the policemen, Trousinski, being mistaken for a [[Voyeurism|peeper]] by a neighbor who shoots and injures him. The next day, a furious Gentry assaults Bob. Believing a [[curse|hex]] has been brought upon them, the group goes "crossroading" and robs a drugstore via an open [[Transom (architectural)|transom]]. They find their haul includes vials of pure powdered Dilaudid worth thousands of dollars each. Declaring that "when you're hot, you're hot", Bob convinces Dianne that he should rob a hospital.

During the robbery, Bob is almost captured, and the group returns to their motel to find Nadine has fatally [[Drug overdose|overdose]]d on a stolen bottle of Dilaudid. According to Bob, she has also put "the worst of all hexes" on them by leaving a hat on her bed. After temporarily storing Nadine's body in the motel's attic, they are alerted by the motel manager that their room was previously booked for a sheriffs' convention, and they must check out. Bob, suffering tremendous anxiety and stress-induced visions of handcuffs and prison, sneaks the body out of the motel in a garment bag. Before burying Nadine in the woods, Bob tells Dianne that he is going to get [[sobriety|clean]] and begin a 21-day [[methadone]] treatment program. Shocked by Bob's decision, Dianne refuses to join him.

Bob moves into a long-stay motel in Portland and gets a low-level manufacturing job. At the [[methadone clinic]], he encounters an elderly, drug-addicted priest named Tom, whom Bob remembers from his days as an [[altar boy]]. Gentry pays a visit to the motel and says that Trousinski has been making threats against Bob, whom Gentry encourages staying sober. Bob later witnesses David bullying a young man who supposedly owes him money. Bob intervenes and lets the man escape, much to David's frustration.

One night, Dianne arrives at the motel and reveals that she is now in a relationship with Rick, the group's new leader. Dianne asks Bob what happened on the road to make him change his life, and he answers that Nadine's death, the hex she put on them, and the possibility of serious prison time contributed to his decision. He reveals a deal he made with a higher power: if he could get Nadine's body out of the motel, past the cops, and into the ground, he would straighten out his life. Bob suggests Dianne stay the night with him, but she declines, and gives Bob a package of drugs before leaving. Bob gives the drugs to Tom (who rejects all of them except for a bottle of Dilaudid). Returning to his room, Bob is attacked by two masked figures, one of whom is David, who thinks he has drugs. Bob tells them that he is clean, but David does not believe this and shoots him. A neighbor phones for help, and Bob is loaded onto a stretcher. Asked who shot him, Bob tells Gentry it was "the hat".

While riding in the ambulance, Bob concludes via a voice-over that he has "paid his debt to the hat" and so can return to his former lifestyle without breaking his commitment. He is amused by the perceived irony of the police driving him to a hospital — "the fattest pharmacy in town".

== Cast ==
{{Cast list|
* [[Matt Dillon]] as Bob Hughes
* [[Kelly Lynch]] as Dianne Hughes
* [[James LeGros]] as Rick
* [[Heather Graham]] as Nadine
* [[Max Perlich]] as David
* [[James Remar]] as Gentry
* [[Grace Zabriskie]] as Mrs. Hughes
* [[William S. Burroughs]] as Father Tom Murphy
* George Catalano as Trousinski
* [[Beah Richards]] as Drug Counselor
}}

== Production ==
===Casting===
[[Tom Waits]] was Van Sant's first choice to play the lead, although the finance company would not support Van Sant if he had cast him. Officially the reason given was that Waits was appearing in another movie they were financing, although Van Sant has said he suspected the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] win of ''[[Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985 film)|Kiss of the Spider Woman]]'', a film they had also financed, had made them want a lead who could win an Oscar.<ref name="Indiewire">{{cite web|last1=Bernstein|first1=Paula|title=Gus Van Sant: On Working with William S. Burroughs and the Evolution of Indie Film|date=May 2, 2015|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/05/gus-van-sant-on-working-with-william-s-burroughs-and-the-evolution-of-indie-film-62460 |website=[[IndieWire]] |access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=April 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406071657/https://www.indiewire.com/2015/05/gus-van-sant-on-working-with-william-s-burroughs-and-the-evolution-of-indie-film-62460/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dillon was ultimately cast in the role of Bob Hughes.<ref name=Rabbits>{{cite web|work=A Rabbit's Foot|title="We had Satan on speed-dial": An Oral History of Drugstore Cowboy|date=June 18, 2024|last=Georgiades|first=Luke|url-status=live|url=https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/confessions/we-had-satan-on-speed-dial-an-oral-history-of-drugstore-cowboy/|archive-date=November 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241106055023/https://a-rabbitsfoot.com/editorial/confessions/we-had-satan-on-speed-dial-an-oral-history-of-drugstore-cowboy/}}</ref> To prepare for his role, Dillon met with active and recovered drug addicts.<ref name=AFI/>

Kelly Lynch was cast opposite Dillon as Bob's wife, Dianne.<ref name=Rabbits/> Lynch drew on her experience of becoming addicted to opioids after she suffered a serious [[head-on collision]] road accident at age twenty, which broke both of her legs (nearly necessitating the [[amputation]] of both) and resulted in her being hospitalized for a year.<ref name=Rabbits/> "Instead of [[Detoxification|stepping me down]], [the doctors] completely took me off of them, and I went through a screaming [[Drug withdrawal|withdrawal]] that lasted about three days—it was like going into the bowels of hell," Lynch recalled. "So I told my agent that I did know what being a junkie was like, and I’m absolutely right for this part. I went into the audition and got the part the very same day."<ref name=Rabbits/>

Heather Graham and James LeGros, who portray lovers Rick and Nadine, respectively, auditioned for the roles and were cast by Van Sant based on [[Polaroid Corporation|Polaroid]] photos he took of them.<ref name=Rabbits/> Producer [[Nick Wechsler (film producer)|Nick Wechsler]] recalled: "It was a [[Andy Warhol|Warhol]]-type thing. He would pin them up on the wall, and the energy they were giving him helped him decide who to cast in the movie. When Heather Graham pulled up—her Polaroid just popped."<ref name=Rabbits/>

=== Filming ===
''Drugstore Cowboy'' was filmed mainly around [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]], including an area in the [[Pearl District, Portland, Oregon|Pearl District]] that used to be a [[railyard]], with a [[viaduct]] going over it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miskowiec.com/about/DrugstoreCowboy.php |title=Filming Locations for ''Drugstore Cowboy'' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714101722/http://www.miskowiec.com/about/DrugstoreCowboy.php |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |website=miskoviec.com|access-date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> The [[Lovejoy Columns]], which formerly held up the viaduct and feature [[outsider art]]work, are featured in the movie.<ref name="ODKA">{{cite web|title=Lovejoy Lost|url=http://www.odoka.org/the_work/lovejoy_lost|website=Oregon Department of Kick Ass: The Work of Vanessa Renwick|access-date=December 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513031227/http://www.odoka.org/the_work/lovejoy_lost/|archive-date=May 13, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The initial drugstore scene was filmed at the Nob Hill Pharmacy on NW Glisan Street.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 5, 2006 |title=Nob Hill Old Pharmacy Cafe |url=https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-5800-nob-hill-old-pharmacy-cafe.html|last=Cohen|first=Shoshonna |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703055001/https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-5800-nob-hill-old-pharmacy-cafe.html|archive-date=July 3, 2025 |website=[[Willamette Week]] |language=en}}</ref> Prior to filming, Van Sant and the principal actors spent time together doing rehearsals and visiting the filming locations together.<ref name=Rabbits/> Lynch said of the rehearsals: "What Gus wanted from those rehearsals was for us to become a family, so that when we got to shooting 19 year-old Heather Graham wouldn’t be starstruck around Matt Dillon. We had gotten over those things, and we became a coven of actors who were hanging out and saying these lines and playing around together. That I thought was genius."<ref name=Rabbits/>

Principal photography began on September 26, 1988,<ref name=AFI>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58035|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=Drugstore Cowboy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211101817/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58035|archive-date=December 11, 2024}}</ref> with a shooting schedule of approximately six weeks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregonian/175808991/|work=[[The Oregonian]]|date=September 24, 1988|page=D8|title=Movie to be filmed in Portland|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Music==
{{Infobox album
| name       = Drugstore Cowboy: Selections From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| type       = soundtrack
| artist     = [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
| cover      =
| alt        =
| released   = 1989
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Avant-garde]]|[[Rock music|rock]]|[[Electronic music|electronic]]|[[Progressive rock|progressive]]}}
| length     = 36:14
| label      = [[Novus Records|Novus]] 3077-2-N13;<ref name="allmu" /><br/>[[RCA Corporation|RCA]] 3077-2-N
| producer   = [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
| chronology = [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
| prev_title = Blank Generation
| prev_year  = 1980
| next_title = [[Pet Sematary (soundtrack)|Pet Sematary]]
| next_year  = 1989
}}
The soundtrack includes songs that are contemporaneous with the film's setting, along with original music by [[Elliot Goldenthal]]. It is one of his earliest works; in it, he does not use an orchestra, but a whole range of instruments treated in a synthesizer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/index5.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3125 |title=''Drugstore Cowboy'' (1989)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314110619/http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/index5.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3125 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |website=Music from the Movies |access-date=January 29, 2015}}</ref> The score and soundtrack were also the first that Goldenthal worked on with Richard Martinez, a [[music producer]] whose "computer expertise and sound production assistance" became the basis for frequent subsequent collaborations.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/nyregion/and-the-music-for-frida-produced-in-a-scarsdale-basement.html | title = ...and the Music for ''Frida'', Produced in a Scarsdale Basement | date = March 23, 2003 | first = Thomas |last=Staudter | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = January 30, 2011 | archive-date = January 7, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150107222025/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/nyregion/and-the-music-for-frida-produced-in-a-scarsdale-basement.html | url-status = live }}</ref> ''[[AllMusic]]'' rated this soundtrack three stars out of five.<ref name="allmu">{{cite web|url=https://allmusic.com/album/drugstore-cowboy-r84973 |title=Review of ''Drugstore Cowboy'' Original Soundtrack |website=[[AllMusic]] |url-status=dead|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222154404/http://www.allmusic.com/album/drugstore-cowboy-r84973}}</ref>

{{div col}}
;Side one<ref name="allmu" />
# "[[For All We Know (1934 song)|For All We Know]]" (4:58) – [[Abbey Lincoln]]
# "[[Little Things (Bobby Goldsboro song)|Little Things]]" (2:25) – [[Bobby Goldsboro]]
# "[[Put a Little Love in Your Heart]]" (2:38) – [[Jackie DeShannon]]
# "[[Psychotic Reaction]]" (3:06) – [[Count Five]]
# "[[Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)|Judy in Disguise]]" (2:56) – [[John Fred|John Fred & His Playboy Band]]
# "[[Israelites (song)|The Israelites]]" (2:47) – [[Desmond Dekker]] & [[The Aces (Jamaican group)|The Aces]]
;Side two<ref name="allmu" />
# <li value=7>"Yesterday's Jones" (0:45)</li>
# "Morpheus Ascending" (1:17)
# "Monkey Frenzy" (2:20)
# "Wonder Waltz" (1:19)
# "White Gardenia" (1:54)
# "The Floating Hex" (1:37)
# "Mr. F. Wadd" (1:02)
# "Elegy Mirror" (0:48)
# "Panda the Dog" (0:51)
# "Heist and Hat" (1:36)
# "Strategy Song" (2:04)
# "Bob's New Life" (2:48)
# "Clockworks" (0:32)
# "Cage Iron" (1:03)
# "Goodnight Nadine" (1:28)
{{div col end}}

==Release==
''Drugstore Cowboy'' opened at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 11, 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/waterloo-region-record/175807654/|work=[[Waterloo Region Record]]|date=September 11, 1989|page=C6|last=Rubinoff|first=Joel|title=Beating the odds|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It was released theatrically in the United States on October 6, 1989.<ref name=AFI/>

===Home media===
IVE Entertainment released the film on [[VHS]] and [[LaserDisc]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Drugstore Cowboy|publisher=IVE Entertainment|year=1990|id=68911|medium=[[VHS]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=Drugstore Cowboy|publisher=IVE Entertainment|year=1990|id=LD 68911-WS|medium=[[LaserDisc]]}}</ref> [[Artisan Entertainment]] released the film on [[DVD]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/277|work=[[DVD Talk]]|title=Drugstore Cowboy|last=Girdler|first=Marc|date=January 24, 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703045811/https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/277|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref> [[The Criterion Collection]] released the film on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|4K UHD Blu-ray]] in February 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/drugstore-cowboy-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-gus-van-sant/|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|title=4K UHD Blu-ray Review: Gus Van Sant's 'Drugstore Cowboy' on the Criterion Collection|last=Cole|first=Jake|date=February 27, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703045927/https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/drugstore-cowboy-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-gus-van-sant/|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref>

== Reception ==
===Box office===
''Drugstore Cowboy'' grossed $4,729,352 at the United States [[box office]] against its $2.5 million budget.<ref name=BOM/>

===Critical response===
''Drugstore Cowboy'' received significant acclaim from film critics.<ref name=chicagotribune/> {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|97||31|consensus=''Drugstore Cowboy'' takes us into a violent, transient world with cool, contemplative style.|access-date=July 3, 2025|ref=y}} {{Metacritic film prose|82|15|ref=yes|access-date=July 3, 2025}}

In his print review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film 4 stars out of a possible 4. He described Dillon as offering "one of the great recent American movie performances" and highlighted how the film was successful by portraying the characters not as "bad people [but] sick people" who formed an unorthodox family to cope with "the desperation in their lives". Ebert also singled out Burroughs's cameo as "a guest appearance by Death".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert|date=October 27, 1989 |title=Drugstore Cowboy movie review (1989) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-1989 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305171911/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-1989 |archive-date=March 5, 2022 |via=[[RogerEbert.com]]|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref> [[Sheila Benson]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' uniformly praised the film's "hauntingly beautiful performances" and praised its dark humor as "laconic" and "macabre," likening the screenplay to that of ''[[Straight Time]]'' (1978).<ref>{{cite news|last=Benson|first=Sheila|author-link=Sheila Benson|title=MOVIE REVIEW: 'Drugstore Cowboy' Shows Lows in Trying to Reach Ultimate High|date=October 11, 1989|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-11-ca-339-story.html|url-status=live|archive-date=July 2, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250702065025/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-11-ca-339-story.html}}</ref> Hal Hinson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' also commented on the film's humor, writing that the screenplay "is steeped in a kind of narcotic hilarity. There's a lag time built into the jokes, a holding period, that's keyed to the reactions of the characters' slowed-down responses. Watching it, you feel witness to a real-life, slow-motion farce-farce in a world without time."<ref name=Hinson>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last=Hinson|first=Hal|date=October 27, 1989|title='Drugstore Cowboy'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/drugstorecowboyrhinson_a0a903.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210062327/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/drugstorecowboyrhinson_a0a903.htm|archive-date=December 10, 2017}}</ref> He also praised the performances for "their affectlessness expressive[ness]."<ref name=Hinson/>

[[Stephen Holden]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted the film's visceral tone, writing, "The way of life portrayed in the film is jarring in its abrupt changes of rhythms, as the somnolent lulls of consumption are broken by ferocious spasms of violence and paranoia," but also highlighted its subtle [[black comedy|dark humor]]: "Because the characters are so self-absorbed and their lives so totally unproductive, there is an element of comic absurdity in their continual desperation. After Nadine dies, their motel happens to become the site of a convention of state policemen. With the place aswarm with overweight law officers in uniform, the urgent problem of removing the body is treated as deadpan black comedy."<ref>{{cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Holden|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Review/Film; Outlaws Looting and Living for Illegal Passions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/movies/review-film-outlaws-looting-and-living-for-illegal-passions.html|date=October 6, 1989|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241028191751/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/movies/review-film-outlaws-looting-and-living-for-illegal-passions.html#selection-487.0-496.0|archive-date=October 28, 2024}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' similarly praised the film's realistic portrayal of drug addiction, noting that "no previous drug-themed film has [such] honesty or originality."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-1200428005/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=1989|author=''Variety'' Staff|title=Drugstore Cowboy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703055219/https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/drugstore-cowboy-1200428005/|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref> 

The film was listed on the Top Ten lists of both [[Gene Siskel]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Siskel |first=Gene|author-link=Gene Siskel|date=December 24, 1989 |title=Our Men at the Movies…Choose the Year's Best |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/12/24/our-men-at-the-movies-choose-the-years-best-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240213031835/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/12/24/our-men-at-the-movies-choose-the-years-best-2/ |archive-date=February 13, 2024 |access-date=February 13, 2024 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> and Roger Ebert for 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert|date=December 31, 1989 |title=The Best 10 Movies of 1989 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/the-best-10-movies-of-1989 |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref> 

=== Accolades ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:70%;"
|-
! style="width:40%;"| Institution
! style="width:5%;"| Year
! style="width:30%;"| Category
! style="width:40%;"| Recipient(s)
! style="width:15%;"| Result
! style="width:1%;" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Berlin International Film Festival]]
| 1990
| Forum of New Cinema
| [[Gus Van Sant]]
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.angelikaanywhere.com/film/drugstore-cowboy/|work=[[Angelika Film Center]]|title=Drugstore Cowboy|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703053213/https://www.angelikaanywhere.com/film/drugstore-cowboy/|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]]
| 1990
| [[Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''Drugstore Cowboy''
| {{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref name=chicagotribune>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/01/08/us-film-critics-pick-drugstore-cowboy-as-best/|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 8, 1990|title=U.S. Film Critics Pick 'Drugstore Cowboy' As Best|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703052554/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/01/08/us-film-critics-pick-drugstore-cowboy-as-best/|archive-date=July 3, 2025}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="8"| [[Independent Spirit Awards]]
| rowspan="8"| [[5th Independent Spirit Awards|1990]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film|Best Feature]]
| ''Drugstore Cowboy''
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="8" style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite web |title=Ahead Of Its Time: Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy |url=https://hollywoodsuite.ca/connect/drugstore-cowboy/ |website=Hollywood Suite |date=February 2, 2017 |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707015148/https://hollywoodsuite.ca/connect/drugstore-cowboy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><br/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news/175809340/|work=[[Indianapolis News]]|date=January 18, 1990|title=Independent-spirit films named|last=Shuster|first=Fred|page=D-2|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Gus Van Sant
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Robert Yeoman]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{hlist|Gus Van Sant|Daniel Yost}}
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead|Best Female Lead]]
| [[Kelly Lynch]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead|Best Male Lead]]
| [[Matt Dillon]]
| {{won}} 
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female|Best Supporting Female]]
| [[Heather Graham]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male|Best Supporting Male]]
| [[Max Perlich]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]
| rowspan="3"| 1989
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{hlist|Gus Van Sant|Daniel Yost}}
| {{won}}
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lafca.net/years/1989.html|title=15th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|website=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013095754/http://www.lafca.net/years/1989.html|archive-date=October 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''Drugstore Cowboy''
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music|Best Music]]
| [[Elliot Goldenthal]]
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| [[National Society of Film Critics]]
| rowspan="3"| 1989
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Gus Van Sant
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"|<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/|title=Past Awards|date=December 19, 2009|newspaper=[[National Society of Film Critics]]|language=en-US|archive-date=July 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729100021/https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| ''Drugstore Cowboy''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{hlist|Gus Van Sant|Daniel Yost}}
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[New York Film Critics Circle]]
| 1989
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| {{hlist|Gus Van Sant|Daniel Yost}}
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{cite news |title=Critics Circle Selects 'Left Foot' for Best Film and Actor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/19/movies/critics-circle-selects-left-foot-for-best-film-and-actor.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 19, 1989 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207041306/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/19/movies/critics-circle-selects-left-foot-for-best-film-and-actor.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| [[PEN Center USA|PEN Center USA Literary Awards]]
| 1990
| Best Screenplay Adaptation
| Gus Van Sant
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web|date=April 6, 1990|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-06-vw-781-story.html|title=PEN Center West Names Winners of '89 Awards|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250703052334/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-06-vw-781-story.html|archive-date=July 3, 2025|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0097240|Drugstore Cowboy}}
* [http://miskowiec.com/about/drugstore-cowboy-filming-locations.php ''Drugstore Cowboy'' Filming Locations] at [http://miskowiec.com miskowiec.com]

{{Gus Van Sant}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film}}

[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s drama road movies]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1989 crime drama films]]
[[Category:1989 independent films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American crime drama films]]
[[Category:American drama road movies]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American psychological drama films]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:Films about substance abuse in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about heroin addiction]]
[[Category:Films about mother–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gus Van Sant]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Gus Van Sant]]
[[Category:Films scored by Elliot Goldenthal]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Films set in 1971]]
[[Category:Films set in apartment buildings]]
[[Category:Films set in hospitals]]
[[Category:Films set in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Films shot in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film winners]]
[[Category:William S. Burroughs]]
[[Category:Artisan Entertainment films]]