Movie: Runaway Bride
Rated PG (Disney)
Running time: 1 hr. 53 min.
Starring: Julia Roberts,
and Richard Gere.
Directed by Garry Marshall.
Produced by Tom Rosenberg,
and Ted Field.
Written by Josann McGibbon,
and Sara Parriott.
Rating: 83%
The film begins with a magical touch as Julia Roberts gallops through a
field on horseback. Slowly, as they pan the picture, the words "Runaway
Bride" glitter the screen in beautiful lettering. Then, we scroll to
Ike Grahm. It's New York City, he's a fast paced man, who works as
a columnist for USA Today. Every day, his story is done at the very
last minute. This particular day, his story evolves from a source at
a beat down bar in the city. His story, is of course, about none other
than Maggie Carpenter. The infamous, and terrible, runaway bride. This
eventually gets him fired, which forces him to redeem his "reputation"
by getting facts for a follow up story, and exploiting her personal
situation even further. From there, the romance, the mystery, begins.
If Runaway Bride had come out last summer, before Notting Hill, and before
these Blockbusters hit the big screen, it would have been a HUGE success
with the critics. However, since it came out when it did, the expectations
were so astoundingly high that no one could have possibly lived up to them.
Not only was she riding on the expectations of another Notting Hill,
but the vision of a "Richard Gere and Julia Roberts reunion" was just
over-the-top too much. But if we take the film, and look at it without
the expectations of anything, without the hopes of something truly
breathtaking, it's really a beautifully done flick. Too often, we see
romantic comedies with no-name actors and actresses who get critical
acclaim-- only because they aren't yet considered great. But anyone who
sees Runaway Bride, cannot POSSIBLY surpass the fact that Julia Roberts
is a definate diva of the movies. Her acting astounds me in every which
way possible. However, I do admit that Runaway Bride was NOT another
Notting Hill.
Even though Runaway Bride is a truly decent film with some really heart
warming scenes, it also lacks the smooth style which Notting Hill delivered.
But not to compare it with Notting Hill, it lacks a smooth style all
togeather. It seems somewhat prosaic when it could have been authentic.
Furtheremore, some of the transitions between scenes were a little
rough along the edges. For instance, they went directly from one scene
to another without some smooth, clever transition. In a movie like "She's
All That" on the other hand, they went from a pan of trees on a poster, to
trees in real life at the film's highschool setting. Little things like
that can really make a film a lot more enjoyable. However, there
were some really beautiful transitions and cinematography done nonetheless.
Only, that beauty was only expressed in both the beginning and end, rather
than throughout the entire flick.
Overall, great preformances, but less witty than expected. It was still
funny, romantic, and beautifully done in some parts, but it was also
rough around the edges, and could have been a lot better. It's a
definate see, but don't expect too much. If one really thinks about it,
expectations can really ruin a film.
