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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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Uptown Girls
(MGM Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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January 6, 2003
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| Length:
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92 mins.
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| Rated:
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PG-13
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1)
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| Audio:
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English 5.1 Surround, French Stereo Surround, Spanish Stereo Surround
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| Subtitles:
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English, French, Spanish, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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"The Lowdown on Uptown" Featurette, "Rockin' Style" Featurette, Video Stills Gallery, Deleted Scenes, "Time" Music Video, Soundtrack Spot, Original Theatrical Trailer
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Uptown Girls is the story of Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) the daughter of a dead rock'n'roll star who finds out that the once vast fortune left to her by her parents has been squandered by her accountant. Having grown up under the umbrella of a sheltered childhood, Molly doesn't know what to do. She's never been without money. (Imagine Paris Hilton discovering that she was no longer heir to the Hilton empire.) So, Molly moves in with some friends (without much success), takes on a few jobs (again, without success) and basically learns some tough life lessons. That is, until, she takes a job as a nanny for Ray (Dakota Fanning). At first, it appears they are polar opposites - Molly is free-spirited and acts like a child - Ray is an uptight clean-freak and acts a little too old for her age. But, as the two get to know each other, they have more in common than they originally thought. And, of course, they come together through a few hardships and they all live happily ever after.
I started out not liking Uptown Girls. It kinda just drops you in the middle and takes off from there. For the first 10 minutes, I really had no idea what was going on and was left wondering if I missed something in the beginning. That aside, the movie kinda grew on me after that, probably due more to the performance and likeability of Dakota Fanning. She was great in this movie, and really carried it for me. As a general rule, I'm not a fan of Brittany Murphy - and this performance wasn't an exception - but Dakota Fanning was enough for me to give this movie a weak recommendation.
The special features start off with "The Lowdown on Uptown" which is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. A lot of back-slapping here and "it was so great to work with so-and-so" stuff. Hell, they even talk about how great it was working with the pigs. The one interesting thing I got out of this feature was where director Boaz Yakin describes how the movie starts off as a romantic comedy and ends as a look at the relationship between the two girls - and how the movie was more of a fairy tale. He was definitely the most dynamic person here.
Next up is a featurette titled "Rockin' Style" which is a look at the costumes and wardrobes from the film. Hosted by costume designer Sarah Edwards, we learn about various aspects of the movie - like how the director wanted a timeless feel to the movie (tying in with the fairy tale theme) and how none of the girls were to wear pants - and the no-denim rule. Surprisingly, they later show one of the denim outfits featured in the film?!? Not really all that interesting for me, but I'm sure for people who care anything about fashion, this might be worth a gander.
There are 13 Deleted Scenes included on the DVD, 99% of which involve Brittany Murphy and 1% involving Dakota Fanning - an interesting statistic. The majority deal with the opening birthday party sequence. Others include a surprise cameo by New York Yankee David "Boomer" Wells - which is strange because I'm sure most of the target audience for this movie wouldn't even know who this guy is. Finally, there are a few deleted scenes featuring Molly's friend Huey, played by Brittany Murphy's "Clueless" co-star, Donald Faison - one where he tries to set up a threesome with Molly and another woman he knows and another where he tells her he wants her to move out - seemingly because she wouldn't go through with the threesome. These scenes tie into the behind-the-scenes featurette where we learn that Faison's character was originally supposed to be a jerk - but that Faison ended up being too likeable.
The remaining features consist of a brief Video Stills Gallery featuring some behind-the-scenes photos, a music video for "Time" by Chantal Kreviazuk, a soundtrack spot, the film's theatrical trailer and trailers for some other MGM releases. No audio commentary.
It's tough to say who this movie is for. There are some adult themes that seem more directed at an older audience, but Fanning's performance and the fairy tale nature of the story would suggest the film being more appropriate for a younger audience. Also, I can't imagine too many guys rushing out to see a story about the relationship between these two girls. I suppose it is safe to say that this movie might be enjoyable for girls only, between the ages of 14 and 24. After a rough start, the movie evened out a bit and ended up being almost likeable (but not enough) if only for the performance of Dakota Fanning.
| The Movie: |
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4.5/10 |
| The Extras: |
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4/10 |
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