'Uptown Girls' star doing just fine, thanks

It's all hugs and giggles, Brooklyn pinkie promises and positive, positive energy around Brittany Murphy.

Apparently, this is not just an act that the 25-year-old actress, a show-biz veteran for half her life, puts on for the press.

"Brittany is like my best friend," affirms 9-year-old Dakota Fanning ("I Am Sam," TV's "Taken"), who co-stars with Murphy in the female bonding comedy "Uptown Girls."

"She's just so fun and treats everybody so nice and so special. Every day when she would get on the set, she'd say hello to everybody. You just love being around her; she's full of life."

Although he obviously comes from a different perspective, Jesse Spencer, the handsome Australian actor who plays Murphy's musician love interest in "Uptown," had pretty much the same impression.

"We got on really well; we'd jam a bit between takes and have good ol' chats about music and stuff," Spencer says of his leading lady. "It was a good laugh, we had a good time. She's a talented girl, she's got a lot of energy. I've never seen her low on energy, not once; I get tired just watching her at times!"

There are good reasons for Murphy to feel energized these days. After a dozen years of TV sitcom duty ("Drexel's Class," "Sister, Sister" and, still, "King of the Hill," where the New Jersey-raised actress provides the voice for Texas trailer tart Luanne), and notable — if often overshadowed by showier stars — supporting movie roles ("Clueless," "Girl, Interrupted," "Don't Say a Word," "Riding in Cars With Boys"), Murphy has really established a strong big-screen presence over the past year.

Last November, she turned her own "love interest" role in Eminem's blockbuster "8 Mile" showcase into a distinctive and intriguing characterization. Two months later, the silly romantic comedy "Just Married" surprised just about everybody by becoming the box-office hit of the new year.

Of course, both films came equipped with off-screen points of interest: rumors, never substantiated, that Murphy and the rap bad boy had an actual romance during "8 Mile's" production; and there was a relationship with "Just Married" co-star Ashton Kutcher.

That didn't last long. As anyone with working senses knows, Kutcher has been very publicly squiring 15-year-older Demi Moore around for months. And while she has acknowledged heartbreak over the breakup with the "That '70s Show's" star, Murphy appears to have rebounded quite cheerfully.