As the title demanded, PCC, CC and K8 trekked uptown on Saturday for a evening screening of Uptown Girls. The theater was surprisingly full, and not with the target teen girl audience. Most of the audience was composed of people around Cinecultist et. al's collective age, which PCC found amusing. Overall, the consensus was a moderate thumbs up, though it was agreed that the skeleton that has invaded the artist formerly known as Brittany Murphy should eat several platefulls of carbs. Aside from her off-putting sinewy-ness, Ms. Murphy had surprising chemistry with her small costar, Dakota Fanning. All agreed that the scenes between Murphy's Molly and Fanning's Ray were the best parts of the film. Many of their interactions were surprisingly touching, especially since PCC had envisioned a large portion of the film to be comprised of various cute montage sequences of the girls bonding and frolicking in Central Park. But the script actually touched on some larger, more thought-provoking issues, such as the death of a parent, the relationships children form with adults and how to deal with grief. This is not to say that Uptown Girls was a deep, art-house drama. But it was more serious than PCC had bargained for.
Finally, a good word must be put in for the phenomenal Dakota Fanning. Unlike many child actors who seem to have a limited emotional range, Fanning is as expressive as any adult. When she's mad, she's mad! She wasn't overshadowed by Murphy- far from it. Fanning isn't a showy actress, but she has an amazing screen presence for someone so young. Comparisons to a young Jodie Foster come to mind...