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Beautiful Girls

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films

Beautiful Girls reviews
64
7.6 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Scott Rosenberg

Directed by: Ted Demme

Release Date:
Theatrical: February 9, 1996
DVD: April 20, 1999

Running Time: 112 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for strong language and nude pin-ups

Starring Matt Dillon, Noah Emmerich, Annabeth Gish, Lauren Holly, Uma Thurman, Timothy Hutton, Rosie O'Donnell, Max Perlich, Martha Plimpton, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, and Mira Sorvino

An all-star cast sparks this comedy about a group of old friends whose 10-year high school reunion creates some unexpected surprises. (Miramax)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90

Time Richard Schickel

Beautiful Girls is always in touch with reality but never drowned in it. [19 February 1996, p.64]

88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie was directed by Ted Demme, with a light touch that allows the humor to survive in spite of the gloomy thoughts and the bleak, dark, frozen winter landscape.

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80

Empire Darren Bignell

The film really succeeds with its warm treatment of ordinary hang-ups - no life-shattering revelations or pain repressed since childhood, just the genuine, everyday trials of life.

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80

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Tender, touching and downright delightful.

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75

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Redeemed by sensitive acting.

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75

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

What saves director Ted Demme's comic talkfest from sitcom slickness is a quirky script by Scott Rosenberg and an appealing cast.

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75

USA Today Mike Clark

Easy to tumble for. [9 February 1996, p.D4]

70

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

Has warmth and good cheer. The film is loosely focused, but its ensemble cast is as affable as anything on television these days.

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70

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The movie is wry, touching and fun to sit through, thanks to Rosenberg's amusing script, Ted Demme's vital direction and zesty performances from everyone.

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67

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

With beauty and talent to spare, Portman is something to behold: It's as if Elizabeth Taylor and Jodie Foster were somehow genetically melded at an early age. She's definitely a beautiful girl to watch for.

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60

The New Yorker Sara Kerr

It's too long by half an hour, and the director, Ted Demme, can't hold onto a rhythm, but the actors are uniformly sharp, and so are the actresses.

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60

TV Guide Staff (Not credited)

Wavers between being condescending and downright preposterous, but there are redeeming moments.

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58

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Directed, with overfondness for the goofy ways of guys, by Ted Demme and written, with overfondness for the sound of guys pontificating about nothing, by Scott Rosenberg.

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50

Los Angeles Times Jack Mathews

Beautiful Girls follows the boys as they work their way through these crises, and it's about as much fun as a neighborhood bar on a Tuesday night. Its crisis: not much happening.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Forget Beautiful Girls. The title ought to be "Jerky, Messed- Up Dudes With Nowhere to Go"

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50

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Despite its name, Beautiful Girls is actually about a group of irritating, twenty-something males whose adolescent attitudes have remained with them well into adulthood.

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50

Variety Todd McCarthy

A great title in search of a movie to live up to it, this startlingly uneventful compendium of thick-headed boy-talk and female tolerance squanders a fine cast on incredibly ordinary characters and situations.

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38

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

Something in Hutton's wounded puppy look always communicates an untapped intelligence or wasted potential, both of which are perfect for this role.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mike gave it an8:
Portman, Plimpton and O'Donnell make the film. The only one of Portman's films I've seen that measures up to The Professional.

Jed gave it an8:
This is a good movie about real people. It's not action packed, it's not incredibly insightful... it's a character study of average people who may relate to people you know.

Marc D. gave it a7:
This is another one of those movies that I feel compelled to watch whenever it's on cable. It features Noah Emmerich's best performance in any movie, in my opinion, and Natalie Portman's interaction with Timothy Hutton is a lot of fun. Go ahead and check it out.

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