Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Uptown Girls Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 16, 2017

Boaz Yakin's "Uptown Girls" (2003) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; collection of deleted scenes; archival behind-the-scenes featurette with dierctor and crew interviews; original music video and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It's all gone terribly wrong

Uptown Girls is the coldest comedy that I have seen in quite some time. It tries to find humor in the misery of two young girls who have been placed in their own private bubbles and left to self-destruct. In the real world these are exactly the type of young people that typically end their lives with a deadly cocktail of strong drugs.

Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) is the daughter of a deceased rock icon who has left her a large chunk of money so that she can enjoy the rest of her life without ever getting a real job. She lives in a fancy building with a kind doorman somewhere in the heart of Manhattan and each night is out partying as hard as she can. But the fun times abruptly come to an end when Molly’s precious inheritance is stolen by some dirty lawyers that have been handling her late father’s business affairs. Shortly after, she is informed that unless she can find a new source of income she would have to vacate her expensive apartment because she can no longer afford to pay the rent. This is when Molly meets Ray Schleine (Dakota Fanning). Ray is an eight-year-old girl who lives in another fancy building in the opposite corner of the city together with her mother (Heather Locklear) and her seriously ill and fully irresponsive father -- well, sort of, because Ray is actually isolated in a giant room that is serviced by a maid and very rarely sees her mother; her father is in a different room surrounded by nurses that are closely monitoring his oxygen tank. A friend introduces Molly to Ray’s mother and she is promptly hired to be the little girl’s trusted companion. Almost immediately after Molly begins her new duties, however, the two girls realize that they will have an awfully difficult time tolerating each other.

Director Boaz Yakin and screenwriters Mo Ogrodnik, Lisa Davidovitz and Julia Dahl focus on a serious of awkward situations to create the proper atmosphere that a good contemporary comedy requires, but it is awfully difficult to look at the two girls and find their misery funny. Here are a couple of examples that should you give you a pretty good idea how heartless the film is: When Molly is initially introduced her only true friend is a pet pig called Moo, and she is essentially sleepwalking through her life without ever realizing that the people she communicates with are willing to tolerate her existence only because they are expecting something in return. (There is a crucial subplot involving some loser who wants to be a rock star that becomes her ‘boyfriend’, but I’d rather not reveal how Molly discovers what his true feelings are. I will just say that it happens later into the film while Molly visits Ray’s place and the two are shocked to discover that they have spent the night in adjacent rooms). Elsewhere in the film on her day off Molly accidentally bumps into Ray’s mother in a fancy bar while the little girl is performing with her ballet group and secretly hoping that her busy mother will find the time to get to the venue. And in another eye-opening sequence Molly is told by her ‘best friend’ who has allowed her to move in with her that it is her responsibility to pay half of her rent because she happens to be living in an expensive area. The ‘lessons’ literally keep on coming until the very end of the film.

The most awkward thing about this film, however, is the easiness with which it accepts that what the two girls are going through is in some odd way normal. It seems to imply that it is the price that they have to pay for being able to live in the bigger bubble that uptown New York apparently is.

Fanning is very good as the rejected little girl who most of the time actually looks like she is stuck between a painful midlife crisis and an inevitable nervous breakdown. Murphy’s loopy personality, however, frequently feels exaggerated beyond belief.

Uptown Girls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Boaz Yakin's Uptown Girls arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The master that was used to source the release is quite good, though it is easy to see that it was prepared some time ago because plenty of the darker footage can look a bit 'thicker' than it should. To be perfectly clear, there is light crush and elevated contrast that suppress the type of gentle nuances that modern masters deliver (see screencaptures #6 and 7). The good news is that no recent attempts have been made to improve inherited limitations, so even though there are obvious weaknesses the film still looks quite good even on a fairly large screens. Rather predictably, the daylight footage is most consistent, but if you look closely you will notice that even there brightness levels are not properly balanced and fluidity isn't optimal. All in all, this is fine technical presentation of Uptown Girls, but there is definitely room for meaningful improvements. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Uptown Girls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

Dynamic intensity and depth are very good. Separation is also good, though anyone expecting impressive surround movement will be underwhelmed. The important point that needs to be made is that the film has a solid active sound design and the lossless track handles it really well. Obviously, it has not been recently remastered, but I don't think that a new remaster would produce some dramatic improvements in the main areas that we address in our reviews.

Uptown Girls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Uptown Girls. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Music Video - presented here is an original music video for Chantal Kreviazuk's song "Time". (4 min, 1080p).

• The Lowdown on Uptown - presented here is an archival behind-the-scenes featurette with dierctor and crew interviews. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Rockin' Style - this archival featurette focuses on the film's eclectic look and trendy outfits that the two girls wear. Included in it are clips from interviews with Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, and costume designer Sarah Edwards. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

Uptown Girls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I expected Uptown Girls to be a silly but fairly enjoyable comedy about two girls living in the big city, but it turned out to be an almost unbearably cold film about a big metropolitan bubble where people are very rarely sincere with each other. The two girls eventually find a way out of the bubble, but before they do they are forced to endure some pretty awful experiences that actually help them realize how truly miserable their short lives have been. Although I did not enjoy the film I have to say that there is an important lesson in it, but my feeling is that most younger viewers will probably completely ignore it. RENT IT.