Beautiful Girls (1996)

Drama directed by Ted Demme and written by Scott Rosenberg. 

It’s a sort of grown-up “Brat Pack” drama following a group of friends based in Knight’s Ridge, Massachusetts, who come back together for a school reunion. There’s an intelligence lurking in the script but it’s also slightly muddled. Some of the performances are strong, but sometimes it’s unclear what point the film is trying to make. For example, Uma Thurman’s character – a random cousin called Andera – floats in and out of the story without much logic. And the thread about Willie (Timothy Hutton) developing an odd connection with 13-year-old Marty (Natalie Portman) raises some quite awkward questions that the film doesn’t really address. 

The ensemble cast also includes Matt Dillon, Noah Emmerich, Lauren Holly, Rosie O’Donnell, Martha Plimpton, Michael Rapaport and Mira Sorvino.

It’s nearly there, but only nearly.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)

A quirky comedy. 

Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow star as two friends who travel from Los Angeles to Tucson, Arizona, to attend their school reunion, anxious to impress the peers who snubbed them 10 years previously.

As with so many American films, there’s a lot about status anxiety. It’s a story about aspiration and class. It’s also about the importance of friendship. While some of the jokes miss the mark completely, and the writing could be sharper, there’s enough charm in the two leads’ performances that it works. 

I’m still not sure if it’s forgettable fluff or a satire of forgettable fluff. It certainly doesn’t have the edge of Clueless, but it’s in the same general universe.