Pequeñas Grandes Amigas

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. ***

The plot to "Uptown Girls" is that it centers on Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy), who is the spoiled, 22-year old daughter of a deceased rock legend. When the manager steals her money, she's left broke and for the first time in her life, has to actually work. So she gets a job being a nanny to Ray (Dakota Fanning), the neglected daughter of an overworked music executive. She doesn't really have much of a choice, since she has no "real" working skills or experience being employed. The two bond and become best friends and so on.

True this film's plot slightly resembles Adam Sandler's 1999 comedy "Big Daddy," another film where an irresponsible adult is given the daunting task of playing parent to a neglected child. Where the more serious moments of the story to "Big Daddy" took a back seat to silly toilet humor, "Uptown Girls" is able to soar high above the required material and become something truly unique. "Big Daddy" was great, too and got its message (if you can call it that) across without much trouble, and "Uptown Girls" does the same, and then something greater.

Part of the fun of watching "Uptown Girls" is simply Murphy's presence on screen. Watching this, I had to sometimes remember why she is one of today's youngest and most talented actresses. Another reason would be her relationship with Dakota Fanning in the movie. The two naturally start off not liking each other but as the film continues, they grow closer and closer together.

I'm a guy and I don't normally like these kinds of movies (girlie-girl films), but "Uptown Girls" seems to be an exception, largely because of star Brittany Murphy. She just has a kind of appeal that draws you in, whether you want to or not. I guess that's why when I first saw a poster for this film at the movie theater a few months ago, I was drawn in to it, despite any misgivings I already had.

Murphy has a magnetic charm, a kind of screen presence that's normally lacking with a lot of young actresses working in today's Hollywood. Roger Ebert stated in his review of the film that Murphy displays a kind of ineptitude that's reminiscent of the late Lucille Ball and plays it perfectly. In this film, she is kind of a ditz, but it's all part of her emotional complexity.

Another reason I wanted to see "Uptown Girls" is because Boaz Yakin, who helmed 1994's "Fresh" and 2000's "Remember the Titans," is behind the camera. He has a real eye for the characters in his films, in that he makes them do a lot more than what is expected of them. This is why his two earlier films were so successful in that they went above and beyond the material to become something really special.

I already know that a lot of people are not going to like this movie, but I think that we should at least give it a chance. It's not going to do well at the box office, but I think bad scheduling (the much-anticipated "Freddy vs. Jason" reigned supreme at the box office when "Girls" was released) may have had a serious effect on its overall performance.

Boaz Yakin's "Uptown Girls" doesn't have anything new to say, but it offers us the perfect excuse to spend a mindless hour and a half in the company of Dakota Fanning, one of the best child actresses to come out of Hollywood in quite a while. If the viewer is looking for a light comedy, this film will do the trick.

Molly Gunn, a spoiled young woman, finds out in the worst way she has been rendered destitute because of the man in charge of her trust fund has swindled it and ran away with all her money. She must face reality, so she takes the easy way out in trying for the job of being the little girl Ray's nanny. She is in for a rude awakening!

Molly finds out that Ray is a grown woman trapped in a little girl's body. Ray is wise beyond belief. She makes Molly's life a living hell until Molly realizes that the little girl is to be pitied because she hasn't known any happiness in her short little life.

The combination of Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning is what makes this film work. Both are fun to watch together. Both actresses show they have a strange chemistry that works on the screen. The supporting cast does its part, but of course, we can't take our eyes from Dakota Fanning.

RELEASED IN 2003 and directed by Boaz Yakin, "Uptown Girls" is a dramedy with a little romance about Molly (Brittany Murphy), a fun-loving 22 year-old who suddenly loses her inherited riches and is forced to become a nanny to a stoical neat-freak girl, Ray (Dakota Fanning). Heather Locklear plays Ray's distant mother who's an exec in the music biz while Jesse Spencer plays a hunky musician who gets signed. Marley Shelton and Donald Faison are on hand as friends of Molly.

The first act didn't do much for me, but at the halfway point something made me bust out laughing and I busted out four more times before it was over. More importantly, the movie is rich with quality mind/spirit food. Both Molly and Ray are broken people who handle their grief in opposite ways. And each has what the other needs to heal and escape their disorder.

"Uptown Girls" boldly reveals that "meds" (drugs) cannot heal or deliver a person; the best they can do is help a person cope. In fact, they usually have negative side-effects, mentally and physically. Sadly, six years after the release of the film Murphy ironically died of cardiac arrest due to inadvertent overdoses of a mixture of over-the-counter & prescription drugs taken (they presume) for a respiratory infection. She was only 32.

The flick encourages growing up and achieving true success through (1.) recognizing "golden connections" and taking advantage of them (after all, no one makes it alone, no one; they had help); and (2.) discerning and cultivating one's special talent(s). I'd say more, but it's better to see the movie, enjoy it, and quarry the gems for oneself.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 32 minutes and was shot in New York City (Manhattan & Brooklyn with studio work done in Queens). WRITERS: Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik & Lisa Davidowitz wrote the script based on Allison Jacobs' story.

GRADE: B+

This film is about an uptight child who wants to play everything by the rules, and her interaction with her young caretaker who is playfully childish.

Dakota Fanning is an amazing child actress. The arrogant and cocky faces she managed to pull was in itself an achievement! No wonder she subsequently got so many major roles.

The backing music was good, I liked the songs a lot. The plot itself is quite predictable, but it is still fun to watch. It did bring a smile on my face and kept me interested in the film. This is a good brain-off film for the evening.