The Cure (1995)

45% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(9,207 ratings)

Erik (Brad Renfro) is a 13-year-old boy whose single mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid), has just moved to a new home in Minnesota. Erik feels like a fish out of water with his Southern accent, and he has trouble making friends until he meets Dexter (Joseph Mazzello), a kid a year or two younger who lives… More Erik (Brad Renfro) is a 13-year-old boy whose single mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid), has just moved to a new home in Minnesota. Erik feels like a fish out of water with his Southern accent, and he has trouble making friends until he meets Dexter (Joseph Mazzello), a kid a year or two younger who lives next door. Erik and Dexter get along fine, but Gail tells Erik not to go near Dexter when she learns that he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion a few years ago. Erik ignores his mother's instructions and stands up for the frail Dexter at school, while Dexter's mom Linda (Annabella Sciorra) gives Erik the warmth, affection, and home cooking that Gail is too busy to provide. However, both boys are painfully aware of Dexter's illness, and when one of them spots a headline in a supermarket tabloid that a doctor in New Orleans has discovered a cure for AIDS, they run away together, determined to find the doctor and bring Dexter back as good as new. The Cure was the theatrical feature debut for actor-turned-director Peter Horton, who cut his directorial teeth on the TV series The Wonder Years and thirtysomething. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Peter Horton
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Apr 21, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Nov 23, 2004

Critic Reviews

Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
Practically screams 'TV movie.'
Blake Davis, KFOR Channel 4 News
A surprisingly sweet film, featuring two young actors who know what they're doing.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
A touching tale of friendship lost and found
Chris Hicks, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The Cure is more of a series of anecdotes than a narrative story, and there are all kinds of contrived encounters that are meant to be amusing and charming, but which often feel like underdeveloped stereotypes.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Conner R

Tear Jerkers don't come with any more powerful than cute kids getting AIDS. Joseph Mazzello and Brad Renfro made a great pair and made the characters seem real and their actions believable. The story is extremely touching and one of the first movies to really touch on the… More
Tear Jerkers don't come with any more powerful than cute kids getting AIDS. Joseph Mazzello and Brad Renfro made a great pair and made the characters seem real and their actions believable. The story is extremely touching and one of the first movies to really touch on the disease. While it's not perfect and it does fall under some of the cliches of the genre, it's still very good and for the most part original.
Todd S

The Cure is a very unique and touching drama from Children of The Corn director, Peter Horton. The film takes plays early on in the AIDS crisis, before there were effective drugs, in a time when it was thought that only homosexuals and drug addicts had it. Dexter (Joe Mazzello) is… More
The Cure is a very unique and touching drama from Children of The Corn director, Peter Horton. The film takes plays early on in the AIDS crisis, before there were effective drugs, in a time when it was thought that only homosexuals and drug addicts had it. Dexter (Joe Mazzello) is picked on to the point where he can't go to school and the only one who will talk to him is Erik. (Brad Renfro) While the film wants you to see Erik as pure and open minded, the truth is he's a loner who I don't think really understood the origins of the disease and why the other kids picked on Dexter. Both Mazzello and Renfro give outstanding performance for what must of been a hard film to work on, especially at such a young age. Horton defiantly made the right choice in selecting two young actors, who had been in major films prior to The Cure. An inexperienced cast probably wouldn't have gotten as involved in the role as these two did. Overall, the story is strong, the acting is top notch, and it's definitely a tearjerker, that's well worth the price of admission.
Haley A

A touching story with two wonderful leads: Joseph Mazzello and the late Brad Renfro.

Cast

            Joseph Mazzello as Dexter

            Brad Renfro as Erik

            Annabella Sciorra as Linda

            Diana Scarwid as Gail

            Bruce Davison as Dr. Stevens

            Nicky Katt as Pony

            John Beasley as Skipper #2

            Aeryk Egan as Tyler

            Renee Humphrey as Angle

            John Lynch as Skipper #1

            Mary McCusker as Nurse Murphy

            Peter Moore as Male Nurse

            Bill Schoppert as Funeral Director

            Shirley Venard as Nurse Snyder

            Samantha Lemole as Funeral Attendant

            Jeremy Howard as Tyler's Buddy

            Andrew Broder as Tyler's Buddy

            Rosemary Corman as Elderly Woman on Street

            Stephen D'Ambrose as Bus Station Clerk

            Rodney W. England as Final Doctor

            Delphine French as Tyler's Girlfriend

            Craig Gierl as Jim

            Dale Handevidt as Skipper

            Delia Jurek as Angry Woman

            Fran Korba as Elderly Woman in Market

            Raymond Nelson as Skipper #3

            Mona Powell as Tyler's Girlfriend

            Mychael T. Rambo as Garbage Man

            Laurie A. Sinclair as Cheryl

            David Alan Smith as Garbage Man

            Scott Stockton as Skipper
See full cast