Julia Roberts and Richard Gere ignited the screen in Pretty Woman, the film that launched Roberts into A-list superstardom. For nine years Pretty Woman fans have eagerly awaited a sequel to the movie. The buzz surrounding Runaway Bride, which is not a sequel but which brings Roberts and Gere together again along with Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall, has led to much anticipation.
Runaway Bride just misses the mark, maybe from trying to rehash what was fresh about Pretty Woman. In Runaway Bride , Gere has to buy Roberts’ time, similar to the famous full-of-charm negotiations in Pretty Woman. Runaway Bride also has Gere rescuing Roberts from smug sales clerks refusing to sell her a dress. Sound familiar? It sure does. The acting of Roberts and Gere, along with a series of witty one-liners, save the film from disaster but can’t salvage it from mediocrity.
The film opens with USA Today columnist Ike Graham (Gere) drowning his writer’s block in a NYC bar. He’s out of ideas for his “bitter diatribe against women.” A sympathetic bar-buddy tells him about Maggie Carpenter (Roberts), a woman in Hale, Maryland who’s left three fiances at the alter and may do the same to a fourth. Ike pens a one-sided column about Maggie’s string of near-weddings.
Maggie reads the USA Today column and boils, finding fifteen inaccuracies in Ike’s story. She writes the newspaper and gets Ike fired. Ike can’t believe his misfortune, but when a friend offers him a GQ cover story if he can get the real scoop on Maggie, he heads to Maryland.
He arrives and tracks down Maggie, sparking hate at first sight. Through interviews with friends and family members, Ike uncovers layers of truth about quirky, appealing Maggie, belatedly realizing he wouldn’t mind joining her at the alter. But if he does, will she run away?
It’s hard to believe that Maggie would let Ike examine her life after his slanderous column, and it seems likely that Ike would despise her after she had him fired. Suspending disbelief on this was too much of a stretch. Although Roberts and Gere acted their parts well, they lacked the on-screen chemistry displayed in Pretty Woman. It didn’t help that Gere’s character sported gray hair; he looked like Roberts’ father. Also, the flame of romance between Roberts and Gere should have been lit before the last quarter of the film.
Many of the supporting characters were stereotypes. These included Roberts’ alcoholic father (Paul Dooley) and her sports-mouthed, coach boyfriend (Christopher Meloni).
Runaway Bride did have redeeming qualities, such as a funny script and an original ending. The film also offered beautiful countryside cinematography, including an opening sequence where Roberts galloped through a meadow in a billowing white wedding dress. Gritty NYC contrasted well with rural Maryland, while still maintaining a glamorous edge.
The film offers an entertaining but not outstanding distraction from hot summer nights. The movie is rated “PG” for mild profanity and mature themes.
+ Kendeyl Johansen
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