7.2/10
28,274
176 user 65 critic

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.

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2,105 ( 1,881)

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at Amazon

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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Dick Conway
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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 »

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Details

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Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Beautiful Girls  »

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Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,597,759
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

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Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul's monologue to Will, "A beautiful girl can make you dizzy, like you've been drinking Jack and Coke all morning. She can make you feel high full of the single greatest commodity known to man - promise. Promise of a better day. Promise of a greater hope. Promise of a new tomorrow. This particular aura can be found in the gait of a beautiful girl. In her smile, in her soul, the way she makes every rotten little thing about life seem like it's going to be okay." is in the intro to the demo version of a Taking Back Sunday song called, "Great Romances of the Twentieth Century". See more »

Goofs

When Andera first meets the guys in Stinky's bar she orders six shots of whiskey. She pours four of the six glasses and pauses to hand the fourth glass to Willie. It cuts back to three empty glasses. Two fill up and then it cuts away to her face as she pours the seventh shot but she keeps pouring, at least three shot glasses worth. See more »

Quotes

Gina: I'm finished speaking to both of you okay? You're both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That's the way it goes. God doesn't fuck around; he's a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It's not my rule. If you don't like it, call him. Hey Mitch. Thank you.
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Connections

References The Goonies (1985) See more »

Soundtracks

Will It Go Round in Circles?
Written by Billy Preston & Bruce Fisher
Performed by Billy Preston
Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.
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User Reviews

 
A Little Gem
28 November 2000 | by 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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