Uptown Girls (2003)

★★½
Who would have thought that the ugly duckling of Clueless would eventually outshine the star of that film? Brittany Murphy was the socially inept high school student, and Alicia Silverstone was the popular girl who gave her a makeover. Now, Silverstone has taken a backseat to Murphy in popularity. No wonder too, since Murphy has a sweet demeanor that makes her irresistible. In Uptown Girls, she stars as a pampered rich girl named Molly, who gets thrown out of her apartment when her source of funds leaves town.

Desperate for money, Molly shacks up with her friend Ingrid (Marley Shelton) and takes a job that thus far has proven very difficult. A music producer friend named Huey (Donald Faison) fixes her up with the Schleine family as the new nanny. Roma (Heather Locklear) is the mother of an 8-year-old wise-beyond-her-years spoiled brat named Lorraine (Dakota Fanning). Molly thinks this will be an easy job, but Lorraine, or Ray, is so stuck-up and snobby that she finds herself in a very undesirable position.

Ray is far too much to handle. She has an abrasive personality; she props herself up so high that the thin air is probably affecting her brain. Ray is an ultra-serious ballet student, uses her own soap in public restrooms, speaks with a dictionary-like vocabulary, is knowledgeable of all forms of bacteria and has never been to Disneyland. Her mother gave her everything she wanted except love, and now Ray is so cold she regards her comatose father as a vegetable. She finds Molly's intrusion into her life annoying but also necessary. She needs a nanny, but she's not willing to adjust her personality to keep one around for very long.

No surprises are in store here plot-wise. Molly's good-natured attitude wins the day. She's frustrated at first, but eventually she and Ray form a bond. Ray's introduction into adulthood (she has a psychiatrist) so early gives her an insight into life (no matter how inappropriate) that Molly lacks. In return, Molly shows Ray how to have fun—to act her age, so to speak. She even manages to wake Roma up to the way she has raised her daughter. This is a movie with lessons all over the place.

The friendship between Molly and Ray is especially pleasing given the performances by the two actresses. Brittany Murphy brings a delightful playfulness to her role. She is someone who experienced a lot in her life (her parents died in a plane crash), and what she sees in Ray is a tremendous need for parental supervision. Dakota Fanning delivers an amazingly mature performance. She has total command over her character and dialogue. Fanning recites her lines with authority and self-assuredness. Not even towards the end, when her character transforms into an actual 8-year-old, does she ever give us a sickeningly cute performance.

Uptown Girls isn't particularly important in any way. It's just a chance for two actresses to shine. One, Murphy, has proven that she can do it. The other, Fanning, hints at a possible future filled with challenging roles. The movie works well as a showcase for its stars, rather than as a deep film about personal relationships or success over adversity. Still, there's a breezy likeability here that is hard to resist.

© 2004 Silver Screen Reviews