7.2/10
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Beautiful Girls (1996)

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

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2,520 ( 100)
1 win & 3 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Kev
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Jan
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Anne Bobby ...
Richard Bright ...
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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 ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

good times never seemed so good

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and nude pin-ups | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Official Sites:

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Language:

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Beautiful Girls  »

Box Office

Gross:

$20,837,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The only actors in the principal cast who were the same ages as their characters were Mira Sorvino, Max Perlich and Anne Bobby. Although the characters played by Timothy Hutton and Michael Rapaport are supposed to be the same age, in real life Hutton is more than ten years older than Rapaport. See more »

Goofs

During the fight, Tommy is held against his truck by two of Steve's friends. The friend on Tommy's left in the rear shots is holding his head. In the alternating frontal shots the hand disappears. In the final frontal scene Steve's friend on the right is holding Tommy's head. See more »

Quotes

Willie Conway: [They're in his childhood home, in bed] Wait, wait, wait. This is so weird.
Tracy: You've never had sex in here before?
Willie Conway: Not with another person.
See more »

Connections

References The Geraldo Rivera Show (1987) See more »

Soundtracks

Graduation Day
Written and Performed by Chris Isaak
Courtesy of Reprise Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
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User Reviews

 
A Little Gem
28 November 2000 | by (Birmingham, England) – See all my reviews

Having gone to my local video shop, wanting to rent either Gladiator or a big-budget blockbuster type film for my 'Girls Night In', I came across this in the Bargain Bin for only £2.99(about $5). I figured either the tape was run down (with it being ex-rental) or the film was crap and nobody ever rented it. However, the prospect of Matt Dillion and Timothy Hutton in the same film made me buy it (although my girlfriends were discouraged!)

So after a marathon evening of Gladiator followed by Being John Malkovich, I popped this in the Video and was enthralled! The acting was great and the story relevant to real-life. Everybody goes through these problems, after all. The chemistry between Willie (Timothy Hutton) and Marty (the wonderful Natalie Portman) was brilliant - even though the subject is considered taboo.

Matt Dillion's little triangle with Mira Sorvino and Lauren Holly is an entertaining sideline and Michael Rapaport provides the comic relief as we watch his crumbling relationship with Martha Plimpton. Rosie O'Donnell is also hilarious as the down-to-earth ready-to-break-your-balls-if-you-step-out-of-line type who is happy to rip the rose coloured glasses from your face whenever she feels its necessary.

There is a real sense of friendship between this all-star cast and that really the defining factor in this film. However, the real stars are Hutton and Portman who are simply brilliant. She has perfected the little vixen role in Leon (aka The Professional) and although the characters of Mathilda and Marty are completely different, there is that little inkling of a girl wanting to be loved by a man in her performance. Hutton handles his role with care - and his Winnie-The-Pooh speech is simply heartbreaking!


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