Uptown Girls

Review by: Alysa Salzberg
(AlysaSalzberg@TheCinemaSource.com)

We need fairytales, always have, and always will. Sometimes, these stories are told and retold in their traditional form. But sometimes, elements of the old stories are blended with issues and details that belong to our own contemporary world. Uptown Girls, directed by Boaz Yakin, is a delightful example of a hybrid fairytale.

Now, first off, this isn’t some idea that came to me all on my own. The story opens with a voiceover by Dakota Fanning telling us that it’s a fairytale. And the details of the plot certainly back that up. In modern-day Manhattan, Molly Gunn (a fairy-like, sometimes inexplicably weepy Brittany Murphy) lives a life of luxury. Her father was a famous rocker, now deceased, and Molly has inherited his fortune. For years she’s had a gorgeous apartment, wonderful clothes, she’s travelled all over the world, and goes to fantastic parties every night. Money is nothing for Molly. Like frozen vegetables (another important, yet forgettable, building block of life) Molly’s money is kept in her freezer. Well, a bit of it is, at least. The majority of her immense fortune is kept in a fund managed by one “Bob”. When Bob cuts out with the money, Molly is forced to deal with things most of us deal with every day – getting a job, cutting corners, being responsible – in short, this little princess has to “grow up”. Growing up doesn’t seem to be a problem for Ray (Dakota Fanning), daughter of a neglectful record producer (Heather Locklear). Ray leads a life of self-imposed discipline and structure. She’s a neat freak, a germophobe, and has the exasperated air of a middle-aged woman. Of course, just as Molly’s childishness is due to the absence of parental figures, so is Ray’s need for regulations and organisation. When Molly takes a job as Ray’s nanny, their natures collide and arguments ensue. Yet soon enough this common thread ties them together.

The plot may seem a bit trite or cutesy. It’s certainly something that could be easily bungled or made less interesting than it is. Most viewers will probably go into Uptown Girls expecting what they’ve seen in the trailers – laughs, girly dresses, and pratfalls galore. They will indeed find these things. But what’s also here is something deeper and far more serious than the previews would suggest. So many fairytales are about what’s seen and unseen. In Uptown Girls, we have a young woman whose age suggests she’s a grown up, and a young girl whose age suggests she’s a child. Yet their attitudes are the opposite of what they would seem to be. A magical switch, we’re sometimes made to think. Can the girls’ relationship remedy it? This issue, and this question, are treated, surprisingly, with slightly more seriousness than comedy. Both Molly and Ray are afraid to ...