Ed. Note: Please welcome Mary Chastain to BH and thank her for writing with such insight about one of my all-time favorite undiscovered gems. — J.N.
Ted Demme’s “Beautiful Girls” (1996) is everything we’ve come to expect from a 1990s movie about twenty- somethings preparing for the next stage in life. It’s hip. It sticks with you. It’s quotable. It has a great soundtrack. It’s realistic. It’s………conservative?!
Considering Hollywood is filled with liberals & most of the movies & TV shows celebrate liberal values, it was a shock to realize “Beautiful Girls” emphasizes conservative values such as family, love & relationships, capitalism, and entrepreneurship. Plus it’s feminist without being overly liberal about it.
The plot is simple. A group of guys are getting ready for their 10 year high school reunion. Most of them prefer to stay in love with the ideal perfect woman, which prevents them from growing up & settling down. This speech by Rosie O’Donnell’s character Gina to Tommy & Willie sums it up perfectly:
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Family
Mo & Sarah Morris (Noah Emmerich and Anne Bobby) are the happiest of the bunch and the epitome of the traditional family values conservatives hold dear. They were high school sweethearts, married, and have two kids. Mo absolutely cherishes his kids. While alone with the kids he enthusiastically asks them, “Who wants ice cream?!” At the hospital when he hears his children causing a ruckus he just smiles and wears a look that says, “Kids will be kids!” Sarah is his rock. After he gets in a tussle he is shaken, but all Sarah has to do is hold him. She brings him calm and peace. Their family is a blessing.
Willie’s (Timothy Hutton) family reveals the impact a woman’s presence has on a household. His mother passed away a long time ago, made evident by a house that looks like it hasn’t been touched in years. His father is incredibly sad, withdrawn, and lost like he doesn’t know how to operate without his wife & still has her clothes hanging in the closet. Willie’s younger brother Bobby (David Arquette) is missing the nurture a mother brings. You can FEEL the disconnect between all of them. However, when Tracy (Annabeth Gish), Willie’s longtime girlfriend shows up, everything changes. Dad & Bobby smile, laugh, interact, and address Tracy in a manner that borders on reverence. This heart warming display reveals the conservative value of a family needing both a mother and a father. The woman is the heart & soul of any family.
Love & Relationships
Paul (Michael Rapaport) embraces a liberal view of relationships: Spouses & children are a burden!! They bring you down!! They make you unhappy!! He was with Jan for 7 years until she gave him the ultimatum: marry me or get out. He got out. But is he truly happy? Paul is completely in love with an idea: the perfect woman. He named his dog Elle Macpherson & his bedroom is plastered with pictures of supermodels. Paul talks a big game & explains why he has to have supermodels around him all the time.
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Nevertheless he can’t stop obsessing over Jan (Martha Plimpton). He even tries to propose to her & this is how she responds:
Jan: Only when faced with losing me do you decide you want to spend the rest of your life with me.
Paul: So, what’s wrong with that? I didn’t like the alternative. I mean that’s how one usually comes to a decision anyway, right?
Jan: Wrong again, Paul – one comes to a decision based on what one wants, not based on what one doesn’t want. Got it?
Paul & Jan are a great example of the popular cliché you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
While Paul makes it known that he won’t take up the conservative views on relationships his friend Tommy (Matt Dillon) is tempted. He’s in a steady relationship with Sharon (mira Sorvino), who loves & adores him and will do anything to make him happy. He does love Sharon. He knows he should commit & settle down. Sharon will make him a better man and bring him stability & bliss. But he just can’t let go of the liberal in him. A particular weakness is his ex-girlfriend Darian Smalls (Lauren Holly). They sleep together despite her being married with a child & him in a relationship. Darian keeps him down, he knows it and hates himself for it.
This leads us to examine Darian, the female personification of liberal views on relationships & sex. Darian was the popular girl in high school, used to nice things and getting her way. She lives in a gorgeous house and wears nice clothes. Her interactions with her daughter are sad, as if the girl is a nuisance and burden rather than the true blessing each child should be. Darian fawns over Tommy in the library while her daughter colors at another table, ignored. When the young girl has the NERVE to interrupt her mother to show her a drawing, Darian snaps at her in a very hateful tone. Instead of being grateful and growing up she hangs onto the liberal values of open sexuality and choice over responsibility she holds so dear, even at the risk of destroying her own family. It results in a miserable existence.
Last, but not least, Willie C (Timothy Hutton). The freelance pianist has been with Tracy for 11 months and she isn’t pressuring him to settle down, but he knows she wants to get married & start a family. He’s at a crossroads where he must decide if he should quit his job as a piano player or take a more lucrative and stable sales job. He receives advice from everyone, but only the women and Mo are the voices of reason.
Marty (Natalie Portman) – 13 year old next door neighbor with an old soul. She doesn’t give him specific advice, but their friendship allows him to mature. For their brief time together he’s allowed to be a kid again and take a step back from the pressure of being an adult.
Andera (Uma Thurman) – Stanley’s cousin visiting from Chicago. She’s everything the guys in Knight Ridge want in a woman, but of course she has a boyfriend. Stanley says, “What do you think? A girl like that is born with a boyfriend!” She takes her boyfriend seriously and appreciates the little things he does for her: ice cold martinis, Van Morrison, reading the Sunday newspaper, but most importantly whispers to her at night, “Good night sweet girl.” Willie is jealous a man gets to do these things with her and she wisely points out there is a man who is jealous of him because of everything he gets to do with Tracy.
Mo – He is more blunt. Willie is going on and on about 13 year-old Marty’s potential and Mo keeps pointing out that she’s 13! Willie even makes a remark how he gets to be that old vile guy and Mo says, “Roman Polanski!” In the end Mo says point blank this is about Willie not wanting to grow up. When Willie brings up the sales job Mo immediately steps in & puts a stop to it. He doesn’t beat around the bush and says point blank Willie would be an awful salesman and wouldn’t have time to play piano.
Entrepreneurship & Capitalism
Liberals love money and power as much as anyone. Actually, they love other people’s money. “Beautiful Girls” shows how entrepreneurship & hard work actually pay off. These themes aren’t front & center, but they’re always in the background & noticeable. Stanley “Stink” Womack (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is the best example of this. He bought a local bar and through hard work renovated and expanded it to become family friendly. Stink is very proud to have a full menu, including apps!
Mo’s a successful manager at a textile plant. His hard work has led him to a management position and allows him and his family to live a comfortable life.
Tommy owns a construction company with his friends Paul and Kev. It’s not the most glamorous job, but they’re very successful. The most important thing is that they started it on their own. They built it with their bare hands.
I didn’t spoil anything on purpose because I encourage you to watch “Beautiful Girls.” Don’t rent it. Buy it. It belongs in everyone’s collection.