Beautiful Girls

Beautiful Girls (1996) is an American dramedy directed by Ted Demme — watch it online on iFILM. A snowy reunion in a small Massachusetts town pulls pianist Willie (Timothy Hutton) back from New York, back to the friends he half-envies and half-pities. Tommy (Matt Dillon) is chasing an idealized fantasy woman rather than the real one in his life. And quiet neighbor Paul has developed a crush on 13-year-old Marty (Natalie Portman) — who, in a couple of sharp scenes, manages to cut right through all the adult nonsense.

The script by Scott Rosenberg runs almost entirely on conversation — bar talk, kitchen-table talk, the kind of late-night honesty that only comes out in winter. Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino, and Rosie O'Donnell round out an ensemble that feels lived-in rather than written. It is not a romantic comedy with a neat resolution; it is a portrait of guys who keep inventing reasons not to commit. Stream Beautiful Girls (1996) online on iFILM.