Every so often lightning strikes at just the right time. Beautiful Girls is a movie you couldn't make today on purpose. Directed by Ted Demme, who had made his bones on MTV (back when the M stood for music), this was his third feature film. Who's The Man? and The Ref (a holiday classic) were both respectable films. Writer Scott Rosenberg was fresh off Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. It was 1996 and the Indie Film movement was in full swing.
At the time, there were only a few known names (Matt Dillon, Timothy Hutton, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Annabeth Gish) to give it marquee value. There were a few familiar faces (Noah Emmerich, Rosie O'Donnell, Max Perlich, Martha Plimpton, Michael Rapaport, Pruitt Taylor Vince, David Arquette) and the soon to be familiar (Natalie Portman). Not since The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension had there been such serendipitous casting.
With a great script and great performances it became a hit on its own merits and not because of the soundtrack or "that one scene" that a lot of movies suffered.
The storyline follows a musician who returns to his hometown, that he left for the big city, for his high school reunion. While he's there, he reconnects with his old friends and questions his current life. Should he stay a struggling musician or settle for the stable life of being a salesman and marry his girlfriend? Sometimes you have to visit the past to decide what to do about the future.
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