BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
A film review by Larry McGillicuddy
Copyright 1997 Larry McGillicuddy
**** (out of 4) Directed by Ted Demme Starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Michael Rappaport, Natalie Portman, Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino, Rosie O Donnell
There have been numerous films about twentysomething males who have a fear of commitment and worry where their lives are headed. Last year's wonderful independent feature "Kicking and Screaming" is an example, and Diner is the Citizen Kane of this genre. Most of these films follow a similar pattern. The guys spend a lot of time drinking beer, fantasizing about women they cannot have, and forgetting about what they have right in front of them. "Beautiful Girls", a recent video release, doesn't offer much new to the genre, but what it does offer is a literate, laugh out loud script by Scott Rosenberg, sound direction from Ted Demme, and a first-rate ensemble cast.
"Beautiful Girls" is set in a small New England town where nothing changes and nobody leaves. One of the few that did escape is Willie (Hutton), who has come back for his high school reunion. He is uncertain about his future with his current girlfriend, who wants him to make a commitment.
Tommy (Dillon) is the former high school football star, who now has a job plowing snow during the winter, and construction during the summer. He has an anorexic girlfriend (Sorvino), who he is cheating on with his former high school sweetheart, now married.
Paul (Rappaport) is a man so obsessed with supermodels he has pictures of them all over his wall, and he has even named his dog Elle MacPherson. He has waited too long to commit to his girlfriend of 7 years, who is now "banging the meat cutter" as he so subtly puts it.
Needless to say, these two are definitely not good role models for Willie at this time.
Then suddenly, Willie becomes entranced by two women. One is a drop dead gorgeous city girl who is knowledgeable about sports and does whiskey shooters to boot. She is the ideal woman, almost too good to be true. Then after teaching each of the guys a lesson, she promptly vanishes almost like an apparition. This is the most interesting work Thurman has done to date.
Then there is Marty, the 13 year old neighbor of Willie's father. Willie thinks she might be the ideal woman for him, and actually considers waiting 5 years for her when she's legal age. As played by Portman, Marty is a girl wise beyond her years. The dialogue given to Marty is almost too literate, but it's a credit to Portman that she can actually pull it off and make it seem like a 13 year old could actually talk like that. The scenes between Hutton and Portman are magical. We can begin to understand why they like one another, and also why they weren't meant to be.
Aside from the exchanges between Portman and Hutton, there are several other wonderful vignettes in this movie. Rosie O' Donnell plays the local beautician who delivers a blistering monologue about how blind men can be. And the film's higlight is a scene in a bar where the gang firsts meets Thurman, who asks Willie to play something, and they break out into a chorus of "Sweet Caroline". It's a magical scene. For one moment, they are able to recapture the memories of youth when life wasn't so complicated.
"Beautiful Girls" is a humorous, funny, and touching film. It doesn't take any easy routes to its conclusion, and none of it seems contrived. It belongs with "Diner" and "Kicking and Screaming" as the best in it's genre.
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