Beautiful Girls (1996)

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Directed by: Ted Demme

Starring: Matt Dillon, Lauren Holly, Timothy Hutton

Running time: 112 minutes

Beautiful Girls is the story of Willie Conway, a musician whose career is not what he hoped it would be. As he goes back home to Massachusetts for his high school reunion, he finds himself at a crossroads in his life where he wonders what to make of it all and if he should marry his girlfriend. While talking to his former classmates, he comes to realize that they are all going through the same thing.

This 1996 romantic comedy deals with a matter most of us will understand. It is a safe bet to say that we all, at one point, reassess our life and wonder where to go from there. I sure can relate. And my high school reunion is coming soon too.

Beautiful Girls has a loaded cast of talented actors and the story is interesting, but there is something missing; there is not much happening. By the end of it all, we get that this is about people going through a crossroads in their lives, but there is a certain lack of activity at that fork in the road.

The highlight of the film for me was the interaction between the main character and the teenage neighbor, played by a young Natalie Portman. Willie Conway benefited a lot from meeting that old soul on this particular trip.  

Beautiful Girls is a good film that is not without its flaws.

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