Uptown Girls is one of those seemingly forgettable comedies that is actually more serious than it appears to be on the surface. Uptown Girls is more poignant in retrospect because of Brittany Murphy’s sudden death, but I wanted to see it before. The pairing of one of the titans of young actors, Dakota Fanning, with one of the kookiest actresses worked. Murphy plays the adult who acts like a child, and Fanning is the child that acts like a grouchy old lady. They are both victims of forces beyond their control and use these personas as a way of coping with the tragedies and neglect in their life. Murphy suddenly has to grow up and discover who she is, what she wants and what she can do: Paris Hilton as a modern day fairy tale princess with a heart and soul. Though she appears flightly, Murphy gives her enough edge and snap that make her believable as a human being. In one scene where she suddenly roughly handles Fanning as a point of discipline or tells a prospective lover to stop singing a song because of its association with her worst memories, Murphy immediately tells the audience that it is not easy to float and be happy. It takes work, and she holds others accountable when they violate her boundaries. If Uptown Girls works, it is because Brittany Murphy is making a lot of hard work look easy. If you’re a Murphy fan, definitely see it.