I didn’t think I’d like Beautiful Girls (1996).  I was expecting a male bashing “chick flick.”  I’m happy to say that my assumptions were completely incorrect.  Beautiful Girls is a wonderfully charming and entertaining film that has become one of my favorite movies.  In fact, Beautiful Girls is geared more toward guys than girls.  Of course both sexes will love this movie immensely, and it can be enjoyed with your guy friends, your girl friends, both sexes, your significant other, or by yourself.  It’s just a great movie that is the perfect combination of comedy and drama.  The film focuses on a group of guys who get together for their ten-year high school reunion.  None of them have turned out the way they thought they would, but all the girls in their lives are beautiful for one reason or another.  The relationships and expectations are what make the film fun.  The story takes place in a primarily blue-collar town in New York State (it was actually filmed in Minnesota). 

Matt Dillon plays Tommy, a guy who used to be king of the hill in high school, but now plows snow.  He and his old high school sweetheart, Darian (Lauren Holly), still hold a torch for one another, even though Darian is married with a child and Tommy is involved with Sharon (Mira Sorvino).  Tommy’s feelings for Darian are tearing Sharon apart.  Rosie O’Donnell, brash and funny as always, plays Gina who is there to council Sharon.  (Her lecture on the unrealistic expectations of men is hilarious.)  Michael Rapaport plays Paul, a guy who can’t quite deal with a fallout between he and his girlfriend Jan (Martha Plimpton) after their seven year relationship.  Paul is quite a character with a minor preoccupation with supermodels (he is actually quite profound on this subject).  Mo (Noah Emmerich) is, arguably, the most successful of the group, as he has a good job and a nice family.  His contentment contrasts with the other characters.  Adding to the mix is Andera (Uma Thurman).  She’s a stranger in town and is the most exotic thing the guys have ever seen.  As if there wasn’t enough going on already, Timothy Hutton plays Willy, a piano playing, semi-cool, semi-nerdy, nice guy who has come back to his home town to make a decision about marrying his lawyer girlfriend Tracy (Anabeth Gish).  While he’s there, Willy meets Marty (Natalie Portman) the most beautiful girl of them all.  He, more or less, falls in love with her because of her wit, charm, beauty, goodness, and intelligence.  The only problem is that she’s thirteen.

Everybody is excellent in this film.  All come across as being normal people living normal lives.  There are constant hilarious moments, and yet the themes in the film are quite touching and very real.

The Dolby Surround soundtrack is acceptable for this film.  Everything sounds okay.  Not great, but not lacking in any way.  The many well-chosen pop songs sound good and work superbly in the film (a rarity these days).  Video quality is decent.  The 1.85:1 picture is not 16:9 enhanced, and is a little grainy with some artifacts here and there.  Considering the age of this film, however, Disney could have done a better job with the audio and video transfer.  Disney has done a poor job with supplements as well:  there are none!  Short interviews with the participants and a commentary by Demme would have been wonderful.

Despite the mediocre presentation, Beautiful Girls is certainly worth buying, as it is one of the most refreshing movies I’ve seen in a long time.  Its remarkable and lovely cast (especially young Natalie Portman) is infectious.  I’m sure there will be a few people who won’t like Beautiful Girls, or find it boring or stupid, but that’s because they’ve “been eating retard sandwiches.”

Content:    *****
Audio:  ***
Video:  ***
Extras:  *

Beautiful Girls is certainly one of the better films I’ve seen recently. Unlike some of the other comedies of our time, this one never gets wrapped up in clichés or corny dialogue. What we have is a witty, charismatic, and entertaining film that makes us feel like we've known the characters our whole lives.  It is a movie we can all somehow relate to, and that's what makes it so much fun.

Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Timothy Hutton, Rosie O’Donnell, Lauren Holly, and Michael Rapaport star in this comedy/drama.  Each of the performers are excellent, and the chemistry between them is quite real.  Matt Dillon is cool and calm as the ex-high school jock, and Rosie O'Donnell brings to life one of the funnier scenes in the movie.  The real show-stopper, however, is Natalie Portman.  Undeniably wise beyond her years, she demonstrates her immense talent, wit, charm and adoreability as Marty, the young girl who arguably had some of the best lines in the movie.  "I'm gonna grow up to be 5'10"......I'll be hot."   Looking at her today, would you call her a liar?

I think not.

But anyway, to say this movie was good is a gross understatement.  And so, it's quite  unfortunate that Miramax gave us nothing more than an "ok" presentation on DVD.  The picture quality is generally good, but the lack of extra resolution from an anamporphic transfer is horribly apparent during many scenes.  Luckily, the colors are accurate, and only a few specks of film grain appear during the course of the movie.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is very good, with a suprisingly open soundstage and clear-sounding dialogue.  It is also fairly dynamic.  Like Justin, I would have liked to see more supplements, even if all we got was a director's commentary and cast biographies.

Still, on the whole, this movie really surprised the both of us. Beautiful Girls is charming, and most certainly worth having in your collection. Although one could wish for more supplements, and perhaps better picture quality, the content alone is enough to justify this purchase.

Content:  *****
Audio:  ****
Video:  ***
Extras:  *