Every month, the top streaming services welcome a new class of film titles and television series for viewers to enjoy, and September 2026 has been no exception, especially where Prime Video is concerned. And one of the movies added to Amazon’s extensive streaming library this month is one of my early-aughts favorites, a true comfort comedy featuring one of Brittany Murphy’s best performances.
After her breakthrough as Tai Frasier in 1995’s “Clueless,” Murphy turned out a string of memorable roles in the late ’90s and early 2000s, including “Girl, Interrupted,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “8 Mile,” “Riding in Cars with Boys” and “Just Married,” among others. But “Uptown Girls” — which pairs the late actress with a preternaturally mature school-age Dakota Fanning— sees Murphy bring her signature blend of humor, warmth and emotional depth to elevate the part beyond mere caricature.
Brittany Murphy’s vibrant performance in “Uptown Girls” is streaming now on Prime Video, and here’s why you should check it out.
What is ‘Uptown Girls’ about?
Brittany Murphy stars as Molly Gunn, the naïve, socialite daughter of a famous rock star, who has been living off the ample trust fund left to her by her late father—that is, until she makes the horrifying discovery that the family accountant has embezzled her inheritance, leaving her penniless and homeless.
She takes on a job as a nanny for Lorraine “Ray” Schleine (Dakota Fanning), a precocious, hypochondriacal eight-year-old living in Manhattan with an absent, workaholic mother (played by Heather Locklear) and a comatose father.
Together, the free-spirited nanny and buttoned-up youngster make for quite the odd-couple pairing, and their outlooks on life cause friction. But soon, her unlikely new babysitter helps young Ray begin to bring her guard down. All the while, Molly has to deal with romantic drama after falling for singer Neal Fox (Jesse Spencer), and young Ray has to navigate her complicated family dynamics.
OK, yes, “Uptown Girls” received abysmal reviews from professional critics when it hit theaters back in summer 2003. (The Boaz Yakin-directed dramedy has only a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) But in the decades since, the film has been revisited with kinder eyes, especially in the tragic wake of Brittany Murphy’s untimely death in December 2009.
The early-2000s gem saw the late actress give one of her warmest and most charismatic performances, paired excellently with the deadpan, soon-to-thaw iciness of her much younger screen partner, Dakota Fanning. It’s the emotional chemistry and comedic banter between the film’s leads, as well as the tender treatment of the characters’ respective plights, that have made “Uptown Girls” a comfort-watch classic all these years later.
Stream“Uptown Girls” on Prime Videonow
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