Uptown Girls
Director: Boaz Yakin
Cast: Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton, Jesse Spencer.
Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) has never worked a day in her life and has lived like a queen since her father, a famous rock 'n' roll star, died and left her his fortune. But everything changes when Molly realizes that her manager has stolen her money. She lands a job as a nanny for Ray (Dakota Fanning), a young girl whose serious attitude is the opposite of Molly's carefree one. With help from her boyfriend, Neal (Jesse Spencer), Molly tries to bond with Ray and learn how to be an adult.
When we first meet Molly and Ray, they are both, for lack of a better word, broken…and while they cope with their pain in very different ways, they do share two things in common…they have both lost a father and they both have a sentimental connection to teacups.
Molly tells Ray the story of how her parents died in a plane crash. Lost in a cloud of grief and pain, in the wake of her parents’ death, Molly decides to go to Coney Island Amusement Park. When she arrives at Coney Island, she is only allowed to ride the teacups because she's just a child. As she starts spinning in the teacup, Molly realizes she doesn’t want to stop…almost as if she feels stopping the ride will allow the pain of her loss to come crashing in again. This moment is significant because it is the first time that both Molly and Ray allow their walls to come down and they truly connect with each other. Molly is allowing herself to feel the pain of her parents’ death and Ray comforts Molly as she cries, even allowing Molly to sleep with her in her perfect bedroom.
The teacup memory comes full circle when Molly tells Ray that she should rekindle the relationship with her comatose father. She encourages Ray to talk to her father and read to him, because even though he’s in a coma, hearing his daughter's voice will allow Ray's father to feel her presence and her love for him. While Molly tells Ray that reaching out to her father will help him to heal, in truth, Ray soon experiences the same heartbreaking grief that Molly felt when her father died. While she initially withdraws deep into her shell again, like Molly, Ray also seeks solace in the teacups at Coney Island…but she only starts spinning once Molly joins her in the teacup. When the ride is finished, Molly hugs Ray…and this is another moment where they connect. Their friendship is beautifully illustrated in all its glory when Ray performs a special solo at her ballet recital, and she is dancing to the song that Molly’s father wrote for his daughter titled “Molly Smiles”. This shared moment of joy between Molly and Ray is made even more special when Molly sees the other dancers holding her father’s guitars that he collected and both daughters find their smile once again, as they connect one last time.
Uptown Girls is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, connection and healing. The casting for this film is stellar, particularly for Dakota Fanning and Brittany Murphy and the story is one that any child who has lost a parent can relate to. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Boaz Yakin
Cast: Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton, Jesse Spencer.
Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) has never worked a day in her life and has lived like a queen since her father, a famous rock 'n' roll star, died and left her his fortune. But everything changes when Molly realizes that her manager has stolen her money. She lands a job as a nanny for Ray (Dakota Fanning), a young girl whose serious attitude is the opposite of Molly's carefree one. With help from her boyfriend, Neal (Jesse Spencer), Molly tries to bond with Ray and learn how to be an adult.
When we first meet Molly and Ray, they are both, for lack of a better word, broken…and while they cope with their pain in very different ways, they do share two things in common…they have both lost a father and they both have a sentimental connection to teacups.
Molly tells Ray the story of how her parents died in a plane crash. Lost in a cloud of grief and pain, in the wake of her parents’ death, Molly decides to go to Coney Island Amusement Park. When she arrives at Coney Island, she is only allowed to ride the teacups because she's just a child. As she starts spinning in the teacup, Molly realizes she doesn’t want to stop…almost as if she feels stopping the ride will allow the pain of her loss to come crashing in again. This moment is significant because it is the first time that both Molly and Ray allow their walls to come down and they truly connect with each other. Molly is allowing herself to feel the pain of her parents’ death and Ray comforts Molly as she cries, even allowing Molly to sleep with her in her perfect bedroom.
The teacup memory comes full circle when Molly tells Ray that she should rekindle the relationship with her comatose father. She encourages Ray to talk to her father and read to him, because even though he’s in a coma, hearing his daughter's voice will allow Ray's father to feel her presence and her love for him. While Molly tells Ray that reaching out to her father will help him to heal, in truth, Ray soon experiences the same heartbreaking grief that Molly felt when her father died. While she initially withdraws deep into her shell again, like Molly, Ray also seeks solace in the teacups at Coney Island…but she only starts spinning once Molly joins her in the teacup. When the ride is finished, Molly hugs Ray…and this is another moment where they connect. Their friendship is beautifully illustrated in all its glory when Ray performs a special solo at her ballet recital, and she is dancing to the song that Molly’s father wrote for his daughter titled “Molly Smiles”. This shared moment of joy between Molly and Ray is made even more special when Molly sees the other dancers holding her father’s guitars that he collected and both daughters find their smile once again, as they connect one last time.
Uptown Girls is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, connection and healing. The casting for this film is stellar, particularly for Dakota Fanning and Brittany Murphy and the story is one that any child who has lost a parent can relate to. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.