From the backseat to carseats

Anyone who needs proof that parenthood is a lifelong ride should go see "Riding in Cars with Boys." Starting with a fateful night parked in steamy car beside the reservoir and ending with a snowy road trip, Beverly Donofrio (Drew Barrymore) finds out how having a baby changes every part of life, even after that baby grows into a man.\nBased on Donofrio's memoir, the movie follows Bev from ages 15 to 35. In real life, Barrymore is somewhere in between the two. Thanks to her offscreen persona, it's easy for audiences to believe her as giddy, selfish teenage Beverly. But, surprisingly, she's more impressive when playing the character as a hardened, frustrated adult.\nAfter getting pregnant by dim-bulb boyfriend Ray (Steve Zahn), Beverly is forced to give up dreams of college and a successful writing career for marriage, poverty and spending the rest of her life seeing the disappointment and shame on the face of her once-adoring father (James Woods). The movie alternates between these flashbacks of Beverly's early days as a mother in the 1960s and '70s and a 1986 road trip being taken by Beverly and now-grown son Jason (Adam Garcia).\nThe best part of the movie is how shockingly unlikable Beverly is. There are many sappy U-turns in which Barrymore as Bev and successive child actors as young Jason prove how cute they are by jumping around and mugging adorably for the camera. But that doesn't disguise the fact that Beverly is distant, inattentive and angry toward what Jason's presence has done to her life. And Garcia's portrayal of a bitter and conflicted adult Jason shows how much of a negative effect his mother's selfishness has had. \nAlthough many of the more negative sex and drug-related parts of Donofrio's book have been left out of the movie, "Riding in Cars with Boys" doesn't whitewash how depressing and complicated it is to have dreams of success replaced with bills and dirty diapers. But although Beverly and, for the most part, Jason end up coming out on top, you'll be glad their journey happened to someone else.