Uptown Girls (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writers:

Allison Jacobs (story)
Julia Dahl (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They're about to teach each other how to act their age.

Plot:

A grown-up woman, who kept her childish instincts and behavior, start working as a nanny of a 8-year-old girl, who actually acts like an adult. But in the end everything turns to its right places

Plot Keywords:

Nanny | Inheritance | New York | Nightclub | New York City

Cast

Brittany Murphy	...	Molly Gunn
Dakota Fanning	...	Lorraine "Ray" Schleine
Marley Shelton	...	Ingrid
Donald Faison	...	Huey
Jesse Spencer	...	Neal
Austin Pendleton	...	Mr. McConkey
Heather Locklear	...	Roma Schleine
Will Toale	...	Briefs Model
Marceline Hugot	...	Nurse
Pell James	...	Julie
Quddus	...	Party Guy (as Benjamin Quddus Philippe)
Russell Steinberg	...	Party Guy
Fisher Stevens	...	Funeral Guest
Susanna Frazer	...	Ballet Teacher
Wynter Kullman	...	Holly

Also Known As:

Molly Gunn (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Canada:PG | Netherlands:AL | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Sweden:Btl | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39314)

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Piper Perabo was originally considered for the role of Molly Gunn.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Though Molly's electricity has been turned off, she has no difficulty watching cartoons on TV the next morning and her answerphone is working. One of the deleted scenes included on the DVD shows Molly runs an extension cord through her apartment from another and plugs in the TV. While this is not part of the movie that we see, it is a perfectly valid explanation of what we do see.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ray: [narration] Some fairy tales are true, most of there stories we make up to help us deal with real life; it all depends on your point of view, but here are the facts... there was once a princess, who lived in a castle, high above the streets of an enchanted kingdom. The king and queen were long gone but they left her with a treasure, that she would stay a princess forever. On the eve of her 22nd birthday a great celebration was planned...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Safety Training (#3.19)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Sheets of Egyptian Cotton

Surprisingly likable, if not lovable!

Over the years, we've seen dozens of films labeled as chick-flicks that hold true to the same clichés, jokes and rehashed plots that have been done over and over again. After seeing a trailer for `Uptown Girls,' one would naturally think that the film would be a hopeless mesh of the same simple ideas of a lost girl or woman trying to find herself in the most unlikely of places. In all honesty, `Uptown Girls' is just that. However, it has some redeeming qualities that make it rise above its own conventional nature-it actually has an emotional depth to its characters that wouldn't occur under normal circumstances. Also, it stars Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning, two wonderful actresses that dazzle the screen with their very presence.

Molly (Murphy) is a woman in her mid-twenties who is completely detached from reality. Her deceased rock-star father has left her a wealth that affords her the finest apartment, friends and possessions that money can buy. However, life turns upside down for Molly when her broker skips town with all of her money. All of sudden Molly is faced with a world where everything she's been absorbed in has disappeared. Her only choice now is to get a job and start living life like a normal person. After several attempts at some of Manhattan's most elite shops, she accepts a position as a nanny for a friend's boss. But she has no idea what she's in for-a little girl named Ray (Fanning) who is completely obsessive and compulsive. What's more, she wants nothing to do with Molly. The two feel each other out and eventually start to discover that they have a great deal in common, as they are both suffering from the loss of the one's that they cared for most deeply. As such, they have both entered into their own delusional worlds that don't hold true to reality. It's up to the two to help each other out in finding a purpose in life and discovering the true beauty of friendship.

Fanning is truly the prize of `Uptown Girls.' She's an adorable young actress who can actually perform. She steals every scene she's in and the audience can't get enough of her. The moments in the film where she breaks down and cries, you get the impression that its real and this isn't acting-she has that the innate talent to become the characters that she portrays in the script marvelously. Look for her in the recent `I am Sam,' as well as in `The Cat in the Hat,' coming this November. Murphy proves once again that she is a gifted actress. I guess we can forgive her for this past winter's `Just Married,' as her track record generally shows her showing off real talent in films like `8 Mile,' and `Girl, Interrupted.' Her portrayal of Molly makes the audience feel sadness for her character, but at the same time, we can't help but feel that she is incredibly pathetic, and not in the comic sense. The most rewarding part of viewing `Uptown Girls' was how tender the film is. Murphy and Fanning come alive together and you feel their pain and the isolation that they have surrounded themselves in because of the lack of truly loving people in their lives. You walk out of the theater fond of the characters and rooting them on at the end, regardless of the film's parallels to so many others in the genre. `Uptown Girls' isn't a great movie, but it sure is something that is surprisingly likable, if not lovable. ***