Filles de bonne famille

I will not attempt to prove that this movie should be ranked among the great movies, but I am more than willing to defend Uptown Girls against the mostly male haters. True, this movie could be deemed a 'chick flick', but why is that so unbelievably, unforgivably horrible? If you don't like movies with mostly female characters and even some slightly feminist themes, than you will not like this movie. I, on the other hand, watched this movie for the first time expecting the worst and most guilty kind of entertainment, and was more than pleasantly surprised by the dark tones and impeccable performances. I'm a harsh critic, and if you don't trust me, check out the link to Ebert's review of this film via 'external reviews'. Murphy and Fanning are a refreshing duo in a buddy film and like many female buddy films, Uptown Girls is unfairly abused and underrated. If you are trying to sound pretentious you probably shouldn't admit to liking this film. However, if you honestly found this film entertaining, and in some small respect, refreshing, you should admit the merit of this 'chick flick'. Murphy should be commended for choosing roles like Molly and her character in Little Black Book, because in a sea of fantasy and escapism there is an aspect of actual female representation written by women and made for women. Boys, if you want to win points with the ladies, stop letting your testosterone take over your actual pleasure gauge, and attempt to see the positive attributes of films such as this one. Trust me, it will do no good in the long run to hide your opinions on the basis of reputation and ornery stoic persuasion.

This just goes to show you that you shouldn't go into movies with preconceptions, because I went in expecting (hoping, even) to hate this movie, and did for a while, but somewhere along the way it started working on me, and by the end I was practically eating out of its hand.

Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) is the rich, immature, hard-partying daughter of a deceased rock star, but when she loses all her money and belongings, she has to take a job as the nanny to a rich little girl named Ray (Dakota Fanning). Ray is very young, but acts like an uptight 45 year-old woman, because she's been ignored by her cold, socialite mother (a "Melrose Place"-ish Heather Locklear).

Both of these characters, but especially little Ray, are entirely fantasy creations. I don't care how self-sufficient she's had to be, no single-digit kid is going to act like this all the time and speak this kind of dialogue.

What makes the movie work is the actors. Murphy is a very likeable actress and with her mixture of raspy sexuality and innocent flakiness, I can't think of anyone who would have been better playing this spoiled rock princess.

And as Ray, Dakota Fanning once again shows that she is one of the absolute best child actors out there. This is the third time in a row she's been the best part of the movie she's in (the other two being the irritating "I Am Sam" and the downright hideous "Trapped"). Once her character begins to lighten up in the second half of the film, her performance really takes off.

So the story is very predictable, the dialogue often weak, and I hated the character of Molly's on-again, off-again "rock star" boyfriend (who inexplicably makes it big with a horrifyingly bad song about Egyptian cotton), but the characters played by Murphy and Fanning are a pleasure to spend time with, and that's what sold it to me.

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+

Just rewatched this classic. Brittany Murphy was so pretty. I miss her so much.

As other reviewers have suggested, "Uptown Girls" is a hard film to classify: it's not a "comedy," per se, because it isn't funny (and barely even seems to try), but it also isn't particularly dramatic (though there are dramatic elements). I'm reminded of a term I've heard critics use a number of times -- "charmer" -- but only now do I realize how necessary it is to their lexicon. This film's greatest ambition, it seems, is to make its audience smile - and, as far as that goes, it succeeds. I may not have laughed at all for the whole ninety minutes (though I probably did), and I wasn't very moved; but, oh boy, did I smile a lot. Very few movies accomplish even that, so I'm forced to give "Uptown Girls" a strong recommendation.