neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Uptown Girls
	Boaz Yakin Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton, Donald Faison, Heather Locklear, Jesse Spencer 2003		It relies on a time-tested formula: antagonists finding common ground. It's unashamedly manipulative, even cloying in places. It won't linger. But "Uptown Girls" — the story of Molly, an immature, flighty, trust-fund-financed party animal in her 20s, and her attachment to Ray, a precocious, emotionally-repressed, privileged 8-year old — is a mildly amusing, slightly heartwarming way to while away 92 minutes. The film's built around the relationship between Molly and Ray, so the dual lead performances are crucial. The older girl needs to learn to grow up; the younger girl needs to learn how to be a kid. We have to care about them both. Thanks to the actors and director Boaz Yakin, we almost do. Kooky cutie Brittany Murphy is Molly, orphaned daughter of a '70s rock star. Poised-beyond-her-years Dakota Fanning is Ray, self-centered daughter of a preoccupied record-company executive (Heather Locklear). Molly stays out late, seduces musicians and gets wild until she learns that she's been bilked out of her inheritance and must (yikes!) get a job. Failing at a sales gig secured by a friend (Marley Shelton), she agrees to become Ray's nanny, leading to compulsory clashes, truces, laughter, tears.