Beautiful Girls (1996)

A piano player at a crossroads in his life returns home to his friends and their own problems with life and love.

Director:

Ted Demme

Writer:

Scott Rosenberg

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Noah Emmerich, Annabeth Gish

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	Tommy 'Birdman' Rowland
Noah Emmerich	...	Michael 'Mo' Morris
Annabeth Gish	...	Tracy Stover
Lauren Holly	...	Darian Smalls
Timothy Hutton	...	Willie Conway
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Gina Barrisano
Max Perlich	...	Kev
Martha Plimpton	...	Jan
Natalie Portman	...	Marty
Michael Rapaport	...	Paul Kirkwood
Mira Sorvino	...	Sharon Cassidy
Uma Thurman	...	Andera
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Stanley 'Stinky' Womack
Anne Bobby	...	Sarah Morris
Richard Bright	...	Dick Conway

Storyline

New York based jazz pianist Willie Conway heads back to his small hometown of Knights Ridge, Massachusetts for a high school reunion. The trip is as much to go to the reunion and see his old friends - none of whom left Knights Ridge after graduation - as it is to get away from his current life, at which he is at a crossroads both personally and professionally. He is just eking out a living with his piano playing gigs, and as such he is thinking about taking a sales job. He's also not sure if he's ready to marry his long time girlfriend, lawyer Tracy Stover. Most of Willie's Knights Ridge blue collar friends' best days were in high school, they still having that "trophy" mentality of girlfriends and wives. Only Michael "Mo" Morris is happily married with a family. Paul Kirkwood, whose room is plastered with magazine pictures of models, wants his waitress ex-girlfriend Jan back only because he knows now that he can't have her. And Tommy "Birdman" Rowland, who was the big man in high ...

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Plot Keywords:

reunion | small town | pianist | town | hometown | 

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Taglines:

good times never seemed so good

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and nude pin-ups

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brincando de Seduzir

Filming Locations:

Bryant-Lake Bowl - 810 W. Lake Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$20,837,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Woods Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Dillon's character refers to "Falconetti" from "Rich Man Poor Man" as being a terrifying villain. In "The Outsiders", Matt Dillon's character was killed by a character played by William Smith, who also played "Falconetti".

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Goofs

Paul's windshield wipers while plowing Jan's driveway the first time.

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Quotes

Paul: What kind of future can she have with this guy, he cuts meat.
Tommy: You plow snow.
Kev: Hey, at least meat you can eat.

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Connections

References The Geraldo Rivera Show (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Walk on the Wild Side"
Written by Lou Reed

User Reviews

2004 and it's still there

My friends accuse me (rather accurately) for being a sap - for liking this 90's chic flick. But they are wrong about this movie. This movie is entertaining and sometimes fluffy, but more importantly it is real and timely. Amongst all the hype of the X-Gen, this movie boiled down our mood (all us kids who are still growing up) in a small town setting where the people were real (except for Rosie, she should have ended up on the editing room floor). The slight plot is less important than the setting and the circumstances. Winter in small town Massachusetts, on the frozen lakes, and the plowed roads and small taverns - on the edge of early mid-life adulthood for yet another lost generation...the movie leaves you with a cold warm snow feeling of hope and sorrow for people in transition, that usually only a classic novel (like those by F. Scott or Hemingway)can give you.