strength he brings to the material is in the development of their relationship," but lamented that "wholly preposterous plot turns take over, and [the] pic never recovers once the two boys decide to paddle down the Mississippi a la Huck Finn." Another criticism was towards the film's softening of the physical ravages of AIDS, "[reducing] the symptoms to weakness, occasional fever and a few mild coughing fits." Schwarzbaum wrote, "A dying child is emotional blackmail; a child dying of AIDS is an emotional bludgeon, and a filmmaker would do well to keep the case very, very specific, rather than make the deterioration a poetic mystery." Joey O'Bryan of The Austin Chronicle said, "There are some good, effective moments in The Cure, but far too often the film lapses into silly heart-tugging...[ultimately] the movie's good intentions are rarely realized, and the nice message of this family film (Kids with AIDS are people too!) is unfortunately delivered with a slight whiff of homophobia. Then subtract another half a star for the absurdly in-your-face Butterfinger product placement, and what you've got left is a competently acted, high concept, family entertainment, coming of age, AIDS tearjerker that occasionally doubles as a candy bar commercial." Accolades Home media The Cure was released in DVD on November 23, 2004 and also in Blu-ray on March 23, 2021 in Japan. The film was released on Blu-ray in the United States via Mill Creek Entertainment, under their "Retro VHS Collection", on October 4, 2022. References External links The Cure at the TCM Movie Database 1995 films 1995 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films American buddy drama films 1990s buddy drama films Films about children Films about child death Films about death Films about families Films about friendship Films set in Minnesota Films shot in Minnesota HIV/AIDS in American films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Dave Grusin Films about mother–son relationships 1990s English-language films 1995 directorial debut films 1990s American films