Girls Town (1996)

A look at a group of girl friends coming-of-age during their senior year of high school in urban America. Nikki and Emma have a heart to heart talk one evening about how much they'll miss ... See full summary »

Director:

Jim McKay

Writers:

Jim McKay, Denise Casano,

Stars:

Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, Anna Grace

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lili Taylor	...	Patti Lucci
Bruklin Harris	...	Angela
Anna Grace	...	Emma
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Nikki
Ramya Pratt	...	Tomy
Asia Minor	...	Marlys Giovanni
Carl Kwaku Ford	...	Jessie (Boom Box Guy)
Guillermo Díaz	...	Dylan
Shondalin	...	Teacher
Ernestine Jackson	...	Nikki's Mom
John Ventimiglia	...	Eddie
Mary Joy	...	Cora
Stephanie Berry	...	Angela's Mom
Tara Carnes	...	Heather
Yassira	...	Benita

Storyline

A look at a group of girl friends coming-of-age during their senior year of high school in urban America. Nikki and Emma have a heart to heart talk one evening about how much they'll miss each other at college next year, but the next day, Nikki doesn't show up at school: she's committed suicide. The friends steal Nikki's journal and discover that she'd been raped. The rest of the movie shows our heroines growing closer in the wake of Nikki's death and the relevation of her secret (Emma reveals that she's also been raped), taking revenge on the men who oppress them, and trying to grow up and move on with their lives. Emma has to deal with a shallow boyfriend, Angela with an overbearing mother, and Patti is trying to finish high school while trying to raise a child and avoid the child's loser father.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | suicide | cigarette smoking | teenage mother | rape victim | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, and for drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Poli ton koritsion

Filming Locations:

Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$120,608 (USA) (30 August 1996)

Gross:

$403,311 (USA) (20 September 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boomer Pictures, C-Hundred Film Corporation, Dolly Bell Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Angela: What you see is what you get. It ain't cheap. It ain't free, but it's undeniably me.

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Connections

References Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Sista"
Performed by Tyte
Written by Auto, Cherokee and Tyte
Published by Apple Children Publishing, Copper Baby Music and Boo-Daddy Publishing / T-Boy Music (ASCAP)
Produced by Auto for Apple Children Productions
Courtesy of Mercury Records and Crowbar Management

User Reviews

Film loses focus

This is a film that starts out being about one thing and then ignores that and becomes about nothing! Film starts out with a group of high school friends and suddenly one of them commits suicide. After a few weak attempts at trying to figure out why their friend would do such a thing the film goes into another direction of abusive boyfriends and bickering among themselves. These girls have so much attitude that it becomes impossible to feel any sympathy for them. Then at the end of the film they put in some unbelievable plot device to answer the question for the friends suicide. Totally contrived. The only thing worth watching is Lili Taylor as she shows us once again she can play just about any type of character. Here she plays a dumb white girl that grew up in a black neighborhood and inherited all the urban problems. But the script needed a rewrite badly and director Jim McKay and Taylor who help write this film need more of a focus point to the story. This film just stumbles about aimlessly!