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Beautiful Girls

Beautiful Girls

List Price: $9.99
Your Price: $9.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Natalie Portman is Beautiful¿
Review: Why isn't Natalie's picture on the cover instead of Rosie's? .... Too many people refuse to see this movie because of Rosie. For those, she's not in the movie that much and when she is she's really funny. However, the real reason to see this movie is for the Precocious Portman. There hasn't been a tragedy of this magnitude since Romeo and Juliet. Lines like, 'I just want something beautiful,' are so sad, and then Moe responds, 'We all do,' but unfortunately poor Moe just doesn't get it, as is the case for many men. Most of the reviews give good appreciation to Willie and Marty's relationship- so I won't dwell on what could have been perfection. One addition I think most people miss is when Willie's girl friend arrives: Based on his brother bummer and daddy downer's reactions, Willie thinks he's pretty lucky. Suddenly a solid 7.5 looks a lot better than a 0.0 that his bro and dad are stuck with. Listen to the song as the brother and dad have excited smiles saying 'she was superb' and waving bye as Willie drives away looking at her like 'this was meant to be.' The lyrics go 'It's so easy, to be stupid,' which perfectly describes what's going on. Don't settle for someone who doesn't excite you! The DVD has a great picture pretty good sound and the best reply value, so it's worth owning. I just wish they included some extras. On the back of the box is a picture of Natalie and Timothy sitting together talking. That scene is not in the movie, but it must be somewhere out there. Please include it in a special edition.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great addition to your DVD/VHS Collection
Review: I rented this movie because i heard so much about it and after renting it i decided to purchase the DVD. Its one of those films that you can watch over and over again. I think the characters are a bit exagerrated but very entertaining. I dont think it deserves an Oscar or anything but i think the storyline portrays a realistic depiction of guys and that they are somewhat shallow but we ultimately just want "something beautful". All the charaters in the movie keep your interest, all the characters are looking for one thing and every single one is scared to commit to a women. Which is almost every guys fear, but in the end everyone seems to figure out what is most important. Find out for yourself. Rent it or buy it but for sure see it or all your friends will laugh at you because you havent seen it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This movie has a lot of things going on, and stands up to repeated viewings. It's the kind of thing you can't help thinking about for weeks after you see it -- little scenes will lodge in your mind and constantly crop up in your consciousness in unexpected ways.

One thing I wanted to say -- I think the little subplot of the near-love interest between Timothy Hutton and Natalie Portman was the best part of the movie. Especially given the thematic context of the movie in general, it seems to me that Marty represents the siren song of Timothy Hutton's own innocence, his own irresponsible childishness, which moor him to his past and prevent him from moving on. Not that he necessarily should move on... I myself had an experience, a very powerful experience, which was basically the same as the unrealized flirtation portrayed here. I can absolutely attest to the reality of such human connections, and to their power to undo otherwise rational people.

Beyond that, all the characters here seem pretty dead-on to me, and I think of this as a sort of a sweet-spirited "Jerry McGuire," suitable as a "chick flick," a movie for guys to see with their buddies, and also as a very adult meditation on a number of resonant themes... The "you can't go home again" theme also reminds me of "Local Hero" for some reason, which is another little-known flick that I think more people should see. Anyway, two thumbs up. Absolutely worth it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A delight
Review: Sure, the film might be a bit sappy at times. And granted, there are a few occasions when you want to reach through the screen and slap the male characters in the head to tell them to get on with their lives. Personally, though, it's still my favorite film. One that I watch repeatedly and find myself quoting on a daily basis.

Full of snappy one liners ("Who are you Rex Harrison?"), memorable exchanges (Noah Emmerich's explosion, "You beat up my friend, you beat up me..."), and great performances by Natalie Portman, Timothy Hutton, Michael Rapaport and the entire cast make this an extremely pleasurable film experience.

The beauty of Beautiful Girls is that it can be taken it at so many levels. It contains everything from over the top pop culture references ("You gonna' watch 'Rich Man, Poor Man'...) and crude sophomoric humor (David Arquette as Bobby Conway), to literary references and cautious, yet effective handling of taboo societal discussions. It's a guy movie, a date flick, a comedy, an ironic social commentary, a coming of age tale, and a remember-the-wonderyears film in one quirky and charming package.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Overrated here (surprise).
Review: This is a good film...not a great one, and certainly not as great as some reviews here would have you believe, mostly due to some of the worst screenwriting I have been forced to hear and witness in a long time. A previous reviewer was very correct in singling out the "Sweet Caroline" singing scene, for one; it stands out as one of the most embarrassing-to-watch scenes of any movie I've seen in many years. Others that are just jaw-dropping in their brainlessness include the "Bottled Promise" speech by Michael Rapaport's character and a large proportion of Natalie Portman's lines ("colored girls go doot-da-doot", "honey-limbed lovely"...agh! shoot me now!).

As for Natalie herself, I'm one of her biggest fans, but I don't think this is one of her better showings; that too is severely overrated in the reviews here. In her defense, I think it was because she was given nothing to work with; she really has the worst lines generally of any character in the movie. To her credit, though, she still manages to use her innate charm to salvage the character and obviously, make it a favorite of many. Still, if you want to see her at her most brilliant, check out "Leon - The Professional".

All this said, it's not a bad film overall...still worth 3 stars. What makes it worthwhile, more than anything else (to me at least), is its star power and chemistry. Timothy Hutton, Mira Sorvino, and Matt Dillon are especially wonderful, and I wish they would be given more Hollywood visibility in general (together would be even better, judging by their chemistry here). The story itself is ok, but frankly the chick-flick-for-guys philosophy misses more often than it hits here.

And for those that care about DVD technicals, the quality of the voice tracks is much poorer than most DVD's I've seen, with a lot of them being (frustratingly) not loud enough.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Bottled promise....
Review: Ahh...beautiful girls. Beautiful girls. As one character (played by the ever-annoying Michael Rapaport) theorizes, a beautiful girl is "nothing but bottled promise-the promise of a new tomorrow!" Oddly enough Ted Demme's BEAUTIFUL GIRLS revolves little around the subject of beautiful women, but focuses on the promise of a new tomorrow-and does so to a middling effect.

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is largely a slice-of-life tale detailing the means by which Willie (an able Timothy Hutton) transverses a sort of early-mid-life crossroads. He's come to a point of ambiguity in his life: his career as a bar-pianist hasn't quite panned out like he'd hoped and his successful lawyer/girlfriend of eleven months wants a commitment for which he's not certain he's ready. Just in the nick of time, comes Willie's ten-year high school reunion-a time to visit old friends and sort out the mess of his life.

The film becomes an ensemble piece soon after Willie's arrival home. We meet his old High School buddies (none of whom have had any motivation to leave their small town) and find they have problems of their own. Tommy (Matt Dillon)-much to the dismay of his present, long-suffering girlfriend (Mira Sorvino)-is hopelessly infatuated with Darian (Lauren Holly), his now-married, ex-High School sweetheart. Paul (Michael Rapaport) has just been dumped by his girlfriend of seven years (Martha Plimpton) for a meat-cutter because he refuses to commit. BEAUTIFUL GIRLS weaves in and out of these several stories sometimes with verve and sometimes without.

The most interesting of these stories is, of course, Willie's own. Upon arrival to the house of his youth (now marred by the death of his mother a few years prior), he meets Marty (a sublime role essayed by young Natalie Portman), the 13 year-old daughter of some neighbors who have moved in since his own departure. Through a series of conversations chock-full of literary references (to Shakespeare, Milne, Nabakov, etc.) Marty develops a crush on Willie who remains sixteen years her senior and Willie begins to seriously contemplate waiting for this young sweetheart. As "dirty-ol' man" as this might sound on paper, the audience, due to Portman's and Hutton's acting, is actually given a glimpse into what might drive such a fascination. The chemistry between Willie and Marty is undeniable and in fact, possibly stronger than that between Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney in OUT OF SIGHT.

Another aspect that added to the film's quality was the manner of resolutions: though many loose ends are tied up in the final moments, like real life, many things (to the movie's credit) remain unresolved. All told, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS hits in some aspects and misses in others, but shouldn't be missed if for no other reason than to catch Natalie Portman and Timothy Hutton in fine form.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best drama/comedies of the 90's
Review: This movie is a true gem. The acting by the entire cast is wonderful, the setting rings true and the script is just right. Watching this movie, I kept thinking to myself how, even in the face of situations that were highly implausible and with dialogue that is impossibly polished, the characters were all believable. Each character struck me as a real person, with real motivations and fears and desires.

Ms. Portman, with her precoscious acting, truly steals every scene she is in, but Mr. Hutton is more than her equal to make their scenes believable, yet not creepy or disturbing. My only complaint, in regards to the actors, was Mr. Rappaport, who was somewhat over the edge. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I did not know at least one person like his character.

A phenomenal movie, that is great for guys, girls and couples. My highest recommendations.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best movies about relationships
Review: This movie is one of my favorites! It really shows the difficulties that people have between one another. And not just between guys and girls; but differences between guys and guys, and girls and girls as well. It really defines true friendship and shows how friends help each other through the tough times.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful Script
Review: You can watch this movie amongst good friends on a late evening, or alone in the mid-afternoon hours, 10 times, even 20 times, and still be enthralled by the quirks of each character. Timothy Hutton plays the perfect misguided, slightly confused, careless hair, wonderer who ventures back to his hometown for a 10th year highschool reunion and finds his old high-school gang searching for the meaning of love and the meaning of a Beautiful Girl. This movie explores the curiousity, the desperation, the temptation and the hopelessness that keeps all of us searching for the ONE. Plus Rosie O'Donnell kicks butt with her infamous monologue on Penthouse and Playboy zines. In short, watch Beautiful Girls, it's great.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite movie of all time!
Review: Beautiful girls is no doubt my favorite movie of all time. Every actor/actress did a "superb" job with their character. Timothy Hutton did an incredible job and played willie's character beautifully. I feel that the movie would not have been as good if it weren't for Natalie Portman. She did such a great job in this movie. I think that just about any guy would be willing to wait 5 years for her. The only thing that i didn't like about this movie was how Willie used the winnie the pooh story. I was really hoping that he would decide to wait. This is the one of the few movies that i actually dreaded to see end. Its just a movie that you wish would never end. I would recommend this movie to anyone.


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