Stars of this movie are Matt Dillon, Timothy Hutton, and Noah Emmerich?

I couldn't agree with you more. Dillon and Hutton were very good, but Portman was superb. In fact I found her performance in this movie even more incredible than in Black Swan (which I found a little overrated, anyhow). She stole every scene she was in. Marty and Paul were without a doubt the most memorable characters.


I only do it with superheroes.

I whole-heartedly agree. Michael Rappaport is such an underrated actor & he's just perfect in everything I've ever seen him in. The "Beautiful Girls" soliloquy was great, but equally as artful was the Wizard of Oz dialogue.

Paul: Did you hear that Andera went back to Chicago? She was supposed to stay through the reunion. She just up and left. What did you say to her in that ice shack, Will?
Willie Conway: I told you, we just talked.
Paul: You told her things, didn't you?
Willie Conway: What things?
Paul: You let her behind the curtain, didn't you?
Willie Conway: Maybe she missed her boyfriend.
Paul: You let her behind the curtain, I know you did. You never let them behind the curtain Will. You never let them see the little old man behind the curtain working the levers of the great and powerful OZ. They are all sisters Willie... they aren't allowed back there... they mustn't see.
Willie Conway: Tell me the truth. You stay up nights thinking about this *beep*
Paul: You say it like it's a bad thing.

The look on his face when he says the final line is PRICELESS!!

Natalie Portman's portrayal of the beautiful, enigmatic, cool, vulnerable and wise-beyond-her-years Marty was astonishing. For clarity, I've not (nor do I plan to see Black Swan) for which she won the Acadamy Award. But I just can't believe she could have outdone this performance. The gamut of emotions she emotes in BG is remarkable for any actor or any age, let alone one that was 14 years old!!

BTW-if you're interested in a theory, check out my post about Marty and Andera representing the same person/soul.

Well, don't know where they decide how to list the cast on the IMDB header. But the DVD I have lists it as Dillon, Hutton, then O'Donnell, Rappaport, Sorvino, then Thurman.

At the time of this movie's release, that was probably roughly the order of experience/marketability. If anything, Rappaport belonged further down the list, given that Sorvino did a popular Woody Allen movie the year before (and won an Oscar the year of BG's release. So to me, the cast credits were fine for the movie, such as they were. I liked EVERYBODY in this movie and felt that there was no weak link that I could cite. You're entitled to your opinion, but I don't think Rappaport stood out among the cast. It's easy to like the goofy/comic relief, over the top guy, and I liked him, too. But within the context of the ensemble cast, he was one of a group of professional, excellent performances. Now, we agree, and I don't know anybody who doesn't, that Natalie was a striking stand-out in this and her future success is massively foreshadowed here, though a lot of people (myself included) saw it a bit earlier in "The Professional". That being said, she was still at the beginning of her career and thus was just another of the ensemble cast, further down the credits, due to a shorter career at the time. So to me, the credits make sense for the movie at the time of its release. I love the movie and own the DVD and have it on my laptop, just in case (of what, I don't know).

Well, I guess they did so because by the time the movie came out, Dillon and Hutton were well-established household names, whereas Rapaport was virtually unknown and Portman's only major role had been in " The Professional " with Jean Reno.