Boys

Boys (1996 film) - 1996 is a U.S. movie featuring Winona Ryder, John C. McGinley, Lukas Haas, Skeet Ulrich, Chris Cooper, James LeGros and Catherine Keener. Originally titled The Girl You Want, the film was adapted from James Salter's short story, Twenty Minutes by writer-director Stacy Cochran. The story takes place in a boys boarding school on the East Coast in the United States. Shot in Baltimore, Maryland, a campus located at the site of St. John's College in Annapolis actually represents the school in the film.

The plot follows John Baker Jr. (played by Lukas Haas) as a boy who is bored with his life at an upper middle class boarding school that he attends. He is equally dissatisfied and unmotivated by the prospect of the expected future of operating a family chain of grocery stores.

Seeing no point in going to school any longer, he believes that with a zero attendance record just for being three minutes late, he may as well skip the entire class altogether. As his graduation from the boarding school looms near, his life changes exponentially when he rescues a woman in a field who is lying unconscious. Patty Vare (played by Winona Ryder) later regains consciousness in John's dormitory.

Before passing out, she tells John that she has no intention of going to a doctor. The next morning, after appearing to have recovered completely, she and John embark upon a romantic journey of self-discovery. However, as she is hidden in the dorm, the other boys quickly discover her. Jealousy causes a confrontation between the boys, John and Patty - and the inevitable altercation ensues.

There are continual flashbacks of Patty's past, revealing that she had a relationship with mysterious, yet famous baseball player. They steal a car, which leads up to his death after a car crash while they were both drinking. Authorities are now searching for Patty for questioning, which is why she refused to have any medical attention. Patty ultimately admits all of these details to John, while informing law enforcement of the body and car location, which had crashed into the river.

While at the police station where Patty is making her confession, she and John unexpectedly depart in an attempt to escape Patty's controlling father (played by Chris Cooper). They drive off, Bonnie and Clyde style, in a car that John had stolen from the school earlier.