Beautiful Girls
Signing Commitment Papers
Psychologists and sociologists have a theory about women. Women
come in two types: Mothers and Daughters. When a Daughter gives
birth, she automatically takes on the title and demeanor of a
Mother.
I'm not sure if this is entirely true. But I do know that men,
on the other hand, don't have the benefit of such a huge biological
change - donating sperm is in no way as big a deal as giving birth.
For a Son to become a Father, he must make a conscious choice
to do so. I'm not just talking about parenthood here, but a general
process of maturing, settling down, becoming a Grown-up. Women
seem to mature so naturally and gracefully, but for men, it's
more of a challenge. The choices all seem so difficult - is an
evening of hanging out with the guys a bonding ritual among the
hunters of the tribe, or just another way of goofing off and avoiding
responsibility? Is collecting Grateful Dead bootleg albums the
obsessive pursuit of an adolescent, or just something a grown
man might do to enjoy himself?
Beautiful Girls is a wonderful portrait of a group of pre-thirtysomethings
going a few rounds with the age old boy/girl dilemma. Miramax
seems to be trying to sell this as the Big Chill of the
'90s (understandable - studios always try to tie a new film in
with as big a hit as they can - they'd sell it as the next Jurassic
Park if they thought they'd get away with it), but it's not.
But it may be the Diner of the '90s.
It takes place during the snowiest screen winter since Grumpy
Old Men - the winter of our discontent, as it were. Timothy
Hutton (in his best role in a long time) is a small time saloon
piano man on a visit to his home town of Knights Ridge, Mass.
for his high school reunion (in the dead of winter?). He loves
his girlfriend (Annabeth Gish), but isn't sure he's ready to Commit.
He's also unsure whether to hang up his music career to "become
a citizen". Arriving at the old homestead, he meets the girl
next door, Marty (the alluring Natalie Portman, who shined so
bright in The Professional). She would seem to be the girl
of his dreams - she's pretty, smart, witty, and a joy to be around.
The problem is, she's thirteen. The conversations the two have
over the course of his stay are the film's highlight - they waltz
with words like two of the sharper members of the Dennis Miller
Debate Squad.
Hutton spends a lot of time drinking and catching up with his
old gang. His best pal is Matt Dillon, who isn't sure he's ready
to Commit to his girlfriend Mira Sorvino, because his old high
school flame (Lauren Holly) still wants him, despite the fact
that she's married.
Then there's Michael Rapaport (Kiss of Death), who's not
sure he wants to commit to his girlfriend Martha Plimpton, until
she starts fooling around with another man. Rapaport is also obsessed
with supermodels (he even has a St. Bernard named Elle McPherson),
declaring "a beautiful girl is as good as love" - in
essence, he believes that worshipping a goddess is an equal alternative
to settling down with a mortal woman. Beautician Rosie O'Donnell
sums up the supermodel situation in her whirlwind monologue mid-film
(an edited version of which serves as the film's trailer): men
are afraid to Commit because there might be a chance that any
minute a goddess may show up.
Standing in for the neighborhood goddess is Uma Thurman, cousin
to one of the guys (Nobody's Fool's Pruitt Taylor Vince)
who seems to have dropped in just to stir the emotions of every
male in sight. Not only is she gorgeous, but, as Pruitt puts it,
"totally cool" as well. Strolling through their lives,
she manages to bring more than one dilemma to its resolution.
The one buddy they all have that's not struggling with Commitment
is Mo (Max Perlich) - the big goof's already Committed ("He's
like a retard", claims Rapaport), happily married to Ann
Bobby and in completely over his head with two bratty kids. But
is he living in a fool's paradise, or has he really found the
key they're all searching for?
Ted Demme should count himself extremely lucky to have been the
director of this film. It's not that he's untalented - on the
contrary, his sure handling of the material is unquestionable.
It's just that this script by Scott Rosenberg is so superior to
that of Demme's previous film, the ill-conceived The Ref.
This should heat up any competition between the two directing
Demmes.
This pleasant and thought-provoking movie should hold something
for everybody, including a well-chosen rockin' soundtrack and
even a pretty good fight scene. Please don't make me say this
is the perfect Date Movie. Just go see it.
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Written by Brian Thomas