Riding in Cars with Boys is a 2001 film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, about a woman who overcame difficulties including being a teen mother to earning a master's degree from the span of 1961 to 1986. It stars Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, and James Woods. It was directed by Penny Marshall and co-produced by Beverly Donofrio herself, though many details from the book and film differ.

Plot

Intelligent but naive Beverly Donofrio (Barrymore), a teenager when the movie begins in the early 1960s, dreams of becoming a writer. An unplanned pregnancy at age 15 and unsuccessful marriage to her heroin- addicted and dim-witted high-school boyfriend means that her aspirations must take a back seat to other responsibilities, while she watches her classmates' lives move forward on schedule. Later - older, wiser, and with a better knowledge of herself - she puts her delayed career plans into action. The story takes place in Wallingford, Connecticut in the 1960's-80's.