Uptown Girls

Uptown Girls is a 2003 American comedy drama film directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Heather Locklear, Marley Shelton, Donald Faison, and Jesse Spencer. Adapted by screenwriters Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz from a story by Allison Jacobs, it focuses on the naive daughter of a famous rock musician who, after learning her inheritance has been embezzled, finds herself employed as a nanny for a precocious hypochondriac girl in Manhattan. The film would become one of Murphy’s most iconic roles.
Plot
Molly Gunn is a generous, free-spirited young woman who lives off the ample trust fund of her late rock star father, Tommy Gunn, who died in a plane crash along with Molly's mother when Molly was a child. Molly falls for singer Neal Fox when he plays at her birthday party, thrown by her best friends Huey and Ingrid. Molly and Neal spend several days and nights of passion sequestered in her apartment, until Neal leaves abruptly and says that he cannot be a part of her disordered life. Adding to her misfortune, she discovers that her father's accountant has embezzled her money, leaving her penniless and homeless. She moves in with Ingrid, on the condition that Molly finds a job.
She begins working as a nanny for eight-year-old Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, who exhibits obsessive hypochondriac behaviors. Ray's mother, Roma, a wealthy music executive, is completely uninvolved in her daughter's life. Ray's father is in a coma induced by a stroke, and is being treated at home by a private nurse, which causes Ray to repress her emotions and maintain a strict regimen of orderliness. Although she enjoys ballet, Ray refuses to freestyle and often quotes Mikhail Baryshnikov: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." Molly attempts to show her how to have fun, which at first causes conflict between them, but eventually Ray begins to bring her guard down.
Molly continues to pursue Neal and holds onto his lucky jacket in hopes of seeing him again. After a baking accident, Molly causes a fire that damages Neal's jacket. She redesigns it to fix the damage, but Neal breaks up with Molly when he sees it, insisting he has to focus on his music career and does not have time for her flightiness. Soon after, he lands a record deal with Roma and has a hit music video with a song that Molly inspired him to write, all while wearing the jacket Molly made. Disgusted, Molly agrees to Ingrid's suggestions to sell off her possessions so she can prove that she is growing up. However, after a fight, Ingrid kicks Molly out, and Molly goes to live with Huey. One night, after fighting with and feeling hurt by Neal again, Molly sleeps at Ray's place after feeling alone at Huey's apartment and finds Neal one morning, having slept with Roma.
The budding friendship between Molly and Ray continues to develop when Molly takes Ray to Coney Island and explains that when her parents died, she ran away to Coney Island and rode the tea cups. She encourages Ray to talk to her comatose father, and promises that it will help him improve. However, Ray's father dies the next day, and Ray orders Roma to fire Molly. In Roma's office, Molly chides her for emotionally neglecting Ray. As she leaves, Molly runs into Neal, who begs for a reconciliation, claiming Molly is his muse. Molly turns him down and admonishes him for only caring about her when it is convenient for him. Ray runs away from home and Roma begs Molly to find her. Molly finds Ray at Coney Island, riding in the tea cups. Despite being furious with Molly for raising her hopes, she collapses into Molly's arms, crying, finally coming to terms with her grief.
Molly, deciding to take charge of her own life, takes Ray's advice to auction off her late father's guitar collection to an unknown buyer; this enables her to afford her own apartment. At the wake for Ray's father, Molly meets other musicians who ask her to design their clothes after seeing Neal's jacket in his video. She and Ingrid also make amends and Molly finds Ray to apologize as well. She promises to stay friends with Ray and enrolls in design school after realizing her talent for fashion.
Molly arrives at Ray's recital late and is pleased to see Ray is wearing the tutu Molly designed for her. She is surprised when Ray dances freestyle to Neal singing "Molly Smiles", a song written for her by her father when she was a child. He plays using Tommy Gunn's acoustic guitar, while the remaining ballerinas dance with the other guitars from her father's collection, revealing that he was the anonymous buyer. In a voice-over, Ray says that the end was a new beginning for all of them.
Cast
Additionally, Brian Friedman, Lucy Saroyan, Nas, Carmen Electra, Mark McGrath, Dave Navarro, and Duncan Sheik also appear as celebrity guests during a funeral scene.
Release
Box office
The film opened at number five at the US box office, grossing US$11,277,367 in its opening weekend across 2,495 screens. It remained in theatrical release for nineteen weeks, grossing a total of $37,182,494 in the United States, with an additional $7,434,848 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $44,617,342.
Critical response
Uptown Girls was panned by critics upon release. On Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 112 reviews are positive and the consensus states: "With two obnoxious lead characters and an uneven screenplay, Uptown Girls fails to charm."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times criticized the film's plot, writing: "In this standard variation of the princess myth, it takes a humbling fall from grace for Molly to gain a smidgen of soul and a glimpse of happily ever after. Once her obnoxiousness has been camouflaged by a thick glaze of saccharine, things magically work out, as they usually do for Hollywood princesses in distress."
David Noh of Film Journal International characterized the film as "fluff", but added: "Murphy creates a rather fascinating chemistry with Fanning, who resolutely absconds with the film as a controlling tot from hell, a fun-killing spinster trapped in a prepubescent body."
A positive review came from Roger Ebert, who awarded the film three stars out of four and likened Murphy to Lucille Ball.
Legacy
Following Murphy's death at the age of 32 on December 20, 2009, Fanning, at age 15, stated that she cherished the time they spent together while working on the film, and that she was "very grateful that [she] had the chance to work with [Murphy]."
Some writers on the film noted that the film has received more positive response in the years after its release and has been described as a 2000s classic.
Home media
Uptown Girls was released to VHS and DVD in Region 1 on January 6, 2004 by MGM Home Entertainment. Olive Films released the film on Blu-ray in 2016.
References
External links
Reviews – Uptown Girls
2003 films
2003 comedy-drama films
2000s buddy comedy-drama films
2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films
2000s English-language films
2000s female buddy films
American buddy comedy-drama films
American coming-of-age comedy-drama films
American female buddy films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about nannies
Films directed by Boaz Yakin
Films scored by Joel McNeely
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
2000s American films