There are lot of good things that can be said of Pretty Woman, 1990 romantic comedy that turned Julia Roberts into megastar. One of the least appreciated is that it never had a sequel. Hollywood being Hollywood tried to do something about it and the result was another romantic comedy starring Julia and her partner from Pretty Woman and with Pretty Woman director. The result was Runaway Bride, 1999 film directed by Gary Marshall, another big hit, which, unlike, its predecessor failed to become instantly recognisable part of popular culture.
The script by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott is based on somewhat outrageous, but relatively simple concept. The plot begins when Homer Eisenhower “Ike” Graham (played by Richard Gere), columnist for USA Today, gets an idea for his next column in New York City bar. One of the drunks tells a tale about Maggie Carpenter (played by Julia Roberts), store clerk from the city of Hale, Maryland, who was so nervous about getting married that she left three grooms at the altar. Ike quickly uses the story for harsh anti-feminist column, but ultimately pays huge price for it. Maggie Carpenter reads the column and writes letter to editor pointing out to factual inaccuracies in the text. The editor happens to be Ike’s former wife Ellie (played by Rita Wilson) who has Ike fired. The only way for Ike to restore his reputation is to write article about the same events for GQ, this time properly researched. He goes to Hale, Maryland where Maggie is just preparing for her fourth wedding, this time for high school coach Bob Kelly (played by Christopher Meloni). While everyone in the town wonders whether Maggie would run away from the wedding for the fourth time, Ike interviews her colleagues, fellow citizens, family members and finally Maggie herself, slowly realising that he is romantically attracted to her.
Runaway Bride features romance and some humour, so the basic criteria to call it a “romantic comedy” are satisfied. However, both romantic content and humour aren’t on the levels enough for this film to be called a “good romantic comedy”. The biggest problem is predictability – even the least experienced viewer knows how the plot would play out – good looking journalist will fall in love with Maggie, she would return his feelings and they will live happily ever after. Director Gary Marshall has plenty of opportunities to enhance the formula with something original, but he sticks to the clichés. The only element that makes this watchable is supporting cast, especially Joan Cusack in the role of Maggie’s best friend. Those characters, however, also muddle the plot and make Runaway Bride longer than it should have been. Julia Roberts, on the other hand, does a very good job and again shows how she became one of the queens of 1990s Hollywood romantic comedy. Richard Gere, who was much better in Pretty Woman is here surprisingly ineffective and gives impression of coming to the set strictly to pick up the pay check. Runaway Bride, thanks to Roberts’ stellar power, had great success at the box office, but the critics were unenthusiastic, resulting in film that relatively quickly sank into oblivion.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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