For Dakota Fanning fans, it's been a long wait. For most of us, it goes back to at least early February, when the last two Dakota movies were released on DVD and video. For the fans who saw those movies in their original theatrical release, it's been since 'Taken' last December.

For all of us, though, the wait was worth it, for in 'Uptown Girls' Dakota has taken her unique acting talent in another new direction. As she did previously in 'I Am Sam,' 'Trapped' and 'Taken,' she has set a new standard for a specific type of kid character, one that other kid actors playing similar characters will forever be measured against.

In 'Uptown Girls' Dakota plays Ray Schleine, a rich girl who has every privilege except the one she really wants: the loving attention of her parents. Her father is in an irreversible coma; and her mother can't be bothered, assigning the welfare of her daughter to a series of nannies. It's a series because Ray keeps chasing them way with her coldness and obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Enter Molly Gunn, played to the delightful hilt by Brittany Murphy. Molly is a former child of privilege herself, the orphaned daughter of a rock star who had been living the 'good life' with her father's money - until the manager of the estate and the money both suddenly vanished. Forced to fend for herself for the first time, Molly eventually takes the job as Ray's newest new nanny.

Although at first they go together like a pile of fireworks and a flame thrower, eventually Ray and Molly discover that they are able to fill some of the emptiness in each other's hearts. How they get to that point is a wonderful movie experience, whether you're a Dakota fan or not.

'Uptown Girls' is not perfect by any means. The movie's original title was 'Molly Gunn,' and the original intent was obviously to focus primarily on the Molly character. The new title carries the implication that Molly and Ray are roughly equal in importance. Unfortunately, there are times when the movie dwells on Molly too long, and drags as a result. The balance implied by the new title isn't consistently achieved.

In the last third or so of the movie, however, everything comes together beautifully, and builds to a very powerful and moving conclusion. Most of the people whose reactions to the movie I have heard or read about have reported being moved to tears at least once (often more) during the latter part of the film. I'm not ashamed to admit being in that category myself.

For Dakota Fanning, 'Uptown Girls' is one more step toward becoming universally acknowledged as the greatest child actor there will ever be. Her character was totally different from any she had played before, yet she again delivered all the complexities of the character better than any other kid could ever have done. The humorous expressions of Ray's obsessive-compulsiveness and premature sophistication, and the gut-wrenching expressions of her deep, festering pain and emptiness were portrayed by Dakota with equally compelling effectiveness.

It is quite obvious to me why the name of this movie was changed in mid-production from 'Molly Gunn' to 'Uptown Girls.' It was because it had become apparent to all involved that if this were to be presented as primarily Brittany's movie, the overwhelming opinion among moviegoers would be that Dakota had stolen it from her. By effectively making both Molly AND Ray the 'title' characters, it allowed them to shine together. I believe the subtle difference the title change caused in the expectations of the viewer helped the movie to work better, and the decision to change the title was thus a wise one.

'Uptown Girls' is rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content.