Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) is a piano player, living in the city. He is not exactly sure about his future career path and he is equally clueless about what he wants from his girlfriend Tracy (Annabeth Gish).He heads home to a small town called Knight’s Ridge, to stay for a couple of days and reunite for his old school friends. As it turns out, Willie is not the only one unsure about his relationship:
Tommy (Matt Dillon) is dating Sharon (Mira Sorvino) but he is still hung up on his high school girl friend Darian (Lauren Holly); who is married with a kid, but still hung up on Tommy and ready to bed him at any opportunity. Sharon loves Tommy, but she is not sure how much longer she can take the Darian issue.
Paul (Michael Rapaport) has been dumped by Jan, his girlfriend of 7 years (Martha Plimpton) – because he wouldn’t make a commitment. She is now seeing another guy and this is handled “very maturely” by Paul whose job is to clear up snow-blocked patios but keeps blocking her garage door with snow and by trying to force a brown wedding ring on her. He has a dog called Elle MacPherson and has his room walls covered with posters of models.
Michael (Noah Emmerich) is the happier one. He has turned into the perfect family man, raising his two young kids with his wife, and seeming to be OK with domestic bliss, which is really pissing of Paul –who thinks men do deserve supermodels.
Willie finds his old house and his residents pretty much the same- his father (Richard Bright) still loves TV and his younger brother Bobby (David Arquette) is pretty much in his own world. However change comes in the form of the 13-year-old next door neigbor girl named Marty (Natalie Portman). She is smart, friendly, upfront and likable. So likeable in fact that Willie starts wishing he wasn’t 29. He is also thinking that her older version could actually be his soulmate.
Things get even more complicated when their favorite bar owner Stinky (Pruitt Taylor Vince)’s gorgeous cousin Andera (Uma Thurman) comes for a visit. All the gang pretty much wants to be around her. Will the gang be able to grow up a little before their high school reunion comes up?
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This is a wonderful “coming of age” story. It is not about teens turning into adults, but young adults who have problems of letting their teens/younger versions without responsibilities go. Granted, it is strength is not in the originality of the characters or the story, but in the lovely story-telling and more than impressive cast. The dialogue is also very fun.
Beautiful Girls is a drama/comedy/romance, but I would call it a relationship genre, if there was one. Because it is about relationships- romantic/family/friendships and also about the characters’ relationships with life. It has pretty decent jokes and entertaining moments. The comedy is more dominant than the emotional tones and thankfully nothing is overdone. It is lovely to see all of these actors in one movie and all of them so young. See this.
Directed by Ted Demme, written by Scott Rosenberg 7.1 on IMDB, voted by over 15,000 people.
Selection of Favorite Lines
Rosie O’Donnell’s character is educating” Wilie (Timothy Hutton) and Tommy (Matt Dillon) about life:
Gina: I’m finished speaking to both of you okay? You’re both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That’s the way it goes. God doesn’t fuck around; he’s a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It’s not my rule. If you don’t like it, call him.
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Stinky (on Andera, played by Uma Thurman) Do you see her face? Girls like that are born with a boyfriend.
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Willie: I was jealous of a little kid on a bike, because he gets to be her age, and I’m this vile old man. Like that guy, what’s-his-name…
Michael ‘Mo’ Morris: Roman Polanski?
Willie (on Marty): You just want to say to her, in all sincerity, take me with you when you go
Michael: Willie, she was a zigot when you were in the 7th grade!
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Tommy: No, Paul is not my friend. He lives in my house. I got cockroaches, I got termites… I got Paul.
Fun Facts
– Timothy Hutton is 36 in the film. Natalie is 15.
– This is the second time 12/13 year-old character of Natalie Portman fascinates an adult male. The other movie is Léon.
– Lauren Holly co-stars in this movie with David Arquette, actress Courteney Cox’s husband. Courteney Cox met David Arquette on the set of scream. Lauren had turned the role Courteney played in Ace Ventura, opposite Jim Carrey. But Lauren later played in Dumb and Dumber opposite Jim Carrey. The two later got married
Other Posts on the Cast Members
Natalie Portman
Closer starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts
Noah Emmerich
Pride and Glory starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich and Jon Voight
Beyond Borders starring Clive Owen, Angelina Jolie and Noah Emmerich
Matt Dilllon
In and Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon and Tom Selleck
Timothy Hutton
The Absolute Timothy Hutton Trivia: 18 Facts About Leverage Star Timothy Hutton
City of Industry starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton
The Killing Room starring Timothy Hutton
Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch
Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan
Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn
Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton
The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton
The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton
Uma Thurman
10 Celebrity Couple Break-Ups You May Not Have Seen Coming
10 Most Entertaining Sci-fi Movies: Favorite Sci-fi Movies of a Non-fan
Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating
The Accidental Husband starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Colin Firth
Pulp Fiction
Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating
