JoBlo reviews "Beautiful Girls"

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
RATING: 8 / 10 --> Great movie

Review Date:             August 24, 1998
Director:                  Ted Demme
Writer:                     Scott Rosenberg
Producer:                 Cary Woods
Actors:                     Timothy Hutton as Willie Conway
                                Natalie Portman as Marty
                                Matt Dillon as Tommy "Birdman" Rowland
                                Michael Rapaport as Paul Kirkwood
                                Lauren Holly as Darian Smalls
                                Mira Sorvino as Sharon Cassidy
                                Uma Thurman as Andera
Genre:                      Drama
Year of Release:       1996

Director Ted Demme chops together an exhaustive cast of big name actors, a quaint little snowy New England town, and the follow-up script of screenwriter extraordinaire Scott Rosenberg, whose first screenplay turned into THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD (7/10). Scott's pen was also the one behind CONAIR (6.5/10) and 1998's DISTURBING BEHAVIOUR.

PLOT:
Willie (Hutton) returns to his childhood hometown when confronted with a question mark as to the destination of his relationship with lawyer-girlfriend Traci, and his piano-playing career. Once in town, Willie mingles with all of his friends of old, who are also caught up in various levels of commitment, and positions his glad-eye on one particular thirteen-year old girl living next door. Twenty-somethings confused about their place in life, their relationships, and the world, is the basis of this human dramedy.

CRITIQUE: Richly penned script, strong acting performances, elegant cinematography and a solid soundtrack, rate this film as one of the best of its reflective kind. Solid character driven story in the spirit of DINER (7/10) that simmers through the sorted lives of several twenty-somethings caught up in a small town and various stages of emotional and intellectual development. This movie lingers in nostalgia, while simultaneously delivering several poignant points of view from the grab-bag of interesting characters growing up amongst one another this scanty little blue-collar town (Many of whom were personally identifiable as well.)

Timothy Hutton shines as the pillar within the group of misguided "adults" still caught up in their own adolescence, while Natalie Portman delivers the most dead-on performance as the witty, charming, and in my humble opinion, overly-literate 13-year old that you've ever seen. I love the script in all other regards, but a couple of the overly pretentious lines delivered by some of the characters (generally Portman), prevented me from completely falling for this film which touches most bases of relationships, and the fears of commitment. Why do we always seem to think that there may be someone better for us out there? Why can we not appreciate the people in our lives until it's too late?

This movie does not have all the answers, but it does offer many interesting observations, several classic scenes and funny moments, and a solid cast of colorful characters interesting enough to keep you engaged throughout its entire close to two-hour run. I also liked the fact that the ending did not close or open all doors, and instead, left you with a mixed sense of melancholic hope. Admittedly, not everyone will be as interested in this film as I was. I am in my twenty-somethings, and felt extremely in tune with most of the characters' thoughts, feelings and trepidations. You might not. Then again, if you've ever had a moment in your life when you felt like you could "do better" than the person with whom you were presently engaged, this movie is certainly one that'll further appetize your food for ample thought. This film may have been a small movie set in a small town, but its characters are earnest, its dialogue is smart and witty, and most of all, its heart is anything but small.

Little Known Facts about the film and its stars:

Goof in film: When Sharon (Sorvino) is visiting Tommy (Dillon) in the hospital, her lips don't move when she asks him how he is.

Director Ted Demme is the nephew of better known director, Jonathan Demme.

Stars Uma Thurman and Timothy Hutton were apparently heavily dating during the filming of this movie (Is there anyone left in Hollywood that hasn't taken a crack at Uma?).

Timothy Hutton has a son Noah with his ex-wife, actress Debra Winger. He also directed the music video "Drive" for the 1980's group The Cars.

Natalie Portman was born on the 9th of June, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is a vegetarian, and was turned down for the role of Juliet in the 1996 version of ROMEO AND JULIET (7/10): a part that eventually went to Claire Danes.

Actor Max Perlich made his feature film debut as the "economics student" in 1986's FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (7.5/10).

Writer Scott Rosenberg graduated from Boston University's College of Communication.

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Ted Demme:

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Berge Garabedian's Review of Rounders (producer)

Matt Dillon:

Berge Garabedian's Review of There's Something about Mary