Review of Beautiful Girls (1996) by Ben D — 30 Aug 2012

You'd think a movie so similar to TV's own "Friends" would get a little bit too frothy and a little bit too cliched. But with "Beautiful Girls", you instead get a nifty little ensemble comedy that is in touch with reality but warm enough to make you feel good after watching it.

You could say the whole idea behind the film is a coming-of-age story for well, a bunch of guys in their 20's. Add a bunch of "beautiful girls" into the story, most movies would try to couple everybody up.

But with its realistic sensibilities, the only things we get to view is couples past romance, in romance, or want romance, but never really looking for it. All of the men and women here are all nervous about settling down but also want it, and it's done with such taste that not one moment feels sappy.

I connected with these characters-- not because I'm like them or in some cases because I liked them-- because we've all met people like these, and we feel for them. The excellent ensemble cast, which makes use of its big names, all do a splendid job in giving us insecure, but sincere characterizations.

Natalie Portman, who was around fifteen at the time, steals every scene as Timothy Hutton's acid tongued, awkward love interest. Ted Demme's directing style is perfect, because he creates a film that is just as funny as it is thoughtful, and the screenplay by Scott Rosenberg is insightful and witty.

By the time I was finished with "Beautiful Girls", not only was I feeling refreshed by how genuine it was, but I was really glad I watched it. This is one of the defining movies of the '90's.

Recommended.