Sorry if it's mentioned somewhere in the movie - I just watched it on cable and flipped channels once or twice - but does this girl have guardian(s)? Maybe I wouldn't have been so creeped out by the "friendship" between her and Willy if I missed some important details, but he was inappropriately attracted to her and she needed someone to tell her that it's not ok for the neighbor guy to hang out his window and gawk at her.
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There's nothing "creepy" about their friendship. It says more about the people who think that than it does the actual film. Marty is symbolic of Willy's long gone youth and his need to move on with his life. Marty's parents are not needed in such a capacity, hence they are not shown or mentioned in the film.
It's unfortunate that some people think there is something "creepy" going on between the two characters because it's the main reason the majority of discussion dealing with this subplot of the film has been deleted over the years.
Great post, willywonka35 ... I completely agree.
The only thing creepy about their friendship are the people who see it that way.
Any friendship that prompts a participant to reference Nabokov is creepy.
shareOf course it was inappropriate and borderline creepy at times, though the writers never let it go too far. Willy's friend's reaction, the married guy, was an accurate one. He thought it was weird, and wrong.
More to the point, Marty's character was not realistic. It reminded me of the girl in Juno - kids that young just aren't as funny and witty and well-read in such an adult way, capable of such witty, snappy repartee. The writer tried to short cut it to make it believable by her saying, I'm an old soul, but it just wasn't real. It was an interesting character for Willy to have as a sounding board/muse, but I didn't buy it.
Which doesn't take away from how talented Portman was at that young age. Great performance.
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No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
I thought they overdid her mature and lightning wit a tad as well. "Romeo and Juliet. Star-crossed lovers, a tragedy of Elizabethan proportions". A little much for a 13 year-old girl, even a brilliant one. Kids just don't talk like that:)
shareI like your thinking Paul. I said the same thing on the Juno board about that character, and everyone was like oh no, some teen girls really can talk like they were Dave Letterman or Jon Stewart.
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No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
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It doesn't bother me as much in Juno, because that's such an overtly stylized story, with intermittent voiceover, slow motion, cutaways to visual diagrams, and ALL the characters talking with unrealistic affectations. But Beautiful Girls seemed to be shooting more for naturalism, so that character was more out of place.
shareFollicleMan, this is the most intelligent thing I've read on IMDB. Thank you for giving me hope.
shareokay, this is the best response i've read. it makes more sense than people just telling me i'm creepy because i thought it was creepy. 30 years ago, i was a 13 year old girl and watching the movie last night...yeah i thought it was creepy. all this talk about misplaced youth and such...don't buy it. but you explain it well.
sharesorry...it's creepy. i tried to think of it symbolically and it just doesn't work. maybe a different script or film maker could have pulled it off.
shareMarty doesn't need her parents to protect her. She realizes (clearly, they both do) that the "relationship" isn't going anywhere. They chat in the front yard. Adults and children can have conversations in public. Marty is an old soul and their conversations are intimate--in a sense--but never inappropriate. Willie wants to find an age-appropriate woman just like Marty. Marty is patient and knows that one day she'll be "hot" and find someone like Willie.
This relationship is central to the film. Marty and Willie see each other as the ideal partner and are disappointed that they can't follow through. All of the other couples in the movie mirror this. The men want perfect (BEAUTIFUL) women and are let down when they discover that they're normal (beautiful) women. The women often blame themselves for not being perfect.
I am pretty certain that a girl like Marty has the sense to realize when she's in danger.
Everyone gets everything he wants.
Um, no actually, telling a twelve year old child that "she's not as pretty as you," IS inappropriate.
shareI'm pretty sure he was joking with her when he said that. He was trying to cheer her up. Their relationship is more platonic than sexual. Although, I have to admit, initially I didn't think it was appropriate she was so into him. It seemed like she was looking for more than a friend in him. In real life it's easy to view that as at least a little strange, that she should be so infatuated with an older man, especially considering how intelligent she was. It made me wonder if she was one of those kids who are ignored by their parents and consequently look for something more in their relationships with older people, particularly of the opposite sex. Anyhow I'm sure Willie would never have taken advantage of her.
I only do it with superheroes.
Um, no actually, telling a twelve year old child that "she's not as pretty as you," IS inappropriate.
Oh god. Get over yourself.
The entire movies is base on people searching for themselves and growing up, so it's not surprising Marty's character reveals it's not just for twenty somethings.
One of the things that makes this a good movie is the depth of the character development. Willie sees in her many things that he wants in a woman, you have to separate that from him wanting her. Marty in turn is just trying out her budding sexuality...which is typical of teenagers, although she is anything but typical.
Perverts and pedophiles want desperately to project their sickness into Marty and Willie's relationship, but there is nothing there beyond his curiosity about an extraordinary person, who just happens to be thirteen.
I liked the fact that her parents were not shown. It gives her a type of mystery background. You don't really know what this girl is going through in her personal life. For all we know her friendship with Willy could be the only great thing happening in her life. She might feel like she means something to somebody when maybe she means nothing to her parents. Either way, it is a great film.
shareI think the reason why you never see Marty's parents is the same reason Andera travels from Chicago without her boyfriend. I think the writers intentionally wanted to keep these two integral characters mysterious.
If you want to see my take on both of these characters, check out my question in this section.
The Willie-Marty relationship kind of bordered on "inappropriate" at times -- each of them have a couple lines during the movie that are a little skeevish -- but in the end they both knew it wasn't going any further.
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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.