I'm amazingly surprised that
Uptown Girls has a significant amount of depth. Make no
mistake, it is what it is—a movie for teenage girls—made for
the purpose of being sweet and adorable. Quite astoundingly,
though, it contains a few morals, a fairly realistic story,
and two fabulous performances by the leads. Sadly, these
three accomplished features cannot save it from being boring
and pretentious, some of the time. In fact, the only scenes
that I really like are those shared by Brittany Murphy and
Dakota Fanning. Uptown Girls will make a good
rental when it’s on DVD, but when you’re paying a full $8.50
for admission, you’ll walk out of the theatre feeling
disappointed.
Molly Gunn
(Murphy) is a party-girl, who has just turned twenty-two.
She is living off a giant inheritance, which she received
when her parents died in a plane crash, when she was eight
years old. Since then, Molly has taken care of herself. Save
for the facts that she’s never ever had to work for her
money and her apartment’s always a pigsty, Molly is doing an
okay job.
At her big
birthday bash, she falls for British rock-star-in-the-making
Neal Fox (Jesse Spencer), when she sees him playing on
stage. When Molly first introduces herself to him, he’s not
all that interested in her. But, one thing leads to another,
and she is finally able to lure him back to her apartment.
She opens the front door to the place, and flips the
light-switch upwards. The light doesn’t come on; her
electricity has been terminated. This is not a problem for
Molly; she always has a backup plan, when a night with a
cute guy is on the line. Leaving him locked out and sitting
in front of the apartment door, she busily works in the
dark, lighting candles and changing clothes. Minutes later,
Molly properly invites Neal in. Their time together,
overnight, is so grand that when he chooses to leave the
next day, she throws a fit and sinks into a deep state of
depression. She’s too down to even remember to call someone
to find out why her power has been cut-off.
Over the next
few days, Molly’s friend, Ingrid (Marley Shelton), helps her
out. Together, they find out that the man who manages
Molly’s parents’ trust fund has run off to another continent
with all of her money. She will have to get a job and earn a
living, for the first time. After being fired from a
position at a furniture store, Molly learns that work isn’t
all fun and games. In a second attempt to find employment,
she joins an agency for nannies. Before long, she’s hired by
the family of little Loraine “Ray” Schleine. Ray was at
Molly’s birthday party (her mother, Roma (Heather Locklear),
a music manager, was invited). They briefly conversed,
there.
Ray is part
hypochondriac, part neat-freak, and part
time-and-money-manager. She’s like forty year-old woman,
packed into the body of a small girl. Molly has the maturity
of a five year-old and the sexual drive of a teenager. Wait,
who’s in charge here? Ray is outlandishly uptight and Molly
is just a little too much fun for her own good. These two
are going to have a hard time finding a common ground, but
once they do, they’ll be able to bond.
The
highlighting moments of Uptown Girls are those
between Ray and Molly. During these, the two actresses,
Fanning and Murphy, are really able to show off their acting
talents. I especially enjoyed those that best showcase the
clashing personalities of the two characters. The script of
this film, by Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik, and Lisa Davidowitz,
is nightmarish, from both literary and theatrical
standpoints, but does allow the two leads to sport their
performing skills. Uptown Girls isn’t just
girly and preppy; it has a real side to it. It
is, indeed, just a passable diversion, but there
are some great qualities to it.
While the
sketches with Fanny and Murphy are likeable, and make this
the movie that it is, the rest of the movie is pretty awful.
Molly’s romance with Neal and her relationships with friends
are both hardly ever amusing to watch. The ending payoff,
albeit enjoyable, is unfathomably stupid. Any boring moments
in a flick like this can really bring it down, on the whole.
Uptown Girls has a handful of these boring
moments. When it’s on video, it’ll be a worthy rental, but
unless you’re only paying matinee price, this one is
certainly not worth a theatre-trip. Movie tickets are
starting to reach prices, that can only be afforded by those
Uptown.
-Danny,
Bucket Reviews