Runaway Bride

Following up on the huge romantic hit "Pretty Woman," Richard Gere, Julia Roberts and Hector Elizondo reteam to produce yet another romantic comedy called "Runaway Bride."

Nobody lost a step or missed a beat as Gere, Roberts and Elizondo teamed up with newcomers Joan Cusack and Rita Wilson. The cast performed with such perfection it seemed like they were performing as it happened for the first time. I commend the casting director and the producer for putting together an excellent cast that really gelled and had chemistry that was like magic.

I must say that "Runaway Bride" was much more charming than "Pretty Woman." I still enjoyed "Pretty Woman" but the updated version had a certain charm and a twist that was lacking in the first film.

I can't say what the twist is without giving away too much, you'll just have to see it to find out.

This was a cute film with a unique way of telling a plot that seems to have been done before on the silver screen.

Runaway Bride is just a good romantic comedy. Yes, the director and the two big name stars are the same as the film's 1990 counterpart, but even though the two films have striking and almost offensive similarities, Runaway Bride has a good enough story that I refuse to believe that it relied on the success of its predecessor.

Julia Roberts is Maggie Carpenter, a hardware store owner (a laughable profession surpassed only by Denise Richards as a nuclear weapons specialist in The World Is Not Enough. Yeah RIGHT!), and Richard Gere is a newspaper columnist (Ike Graham) who has been fired for printing a supposedly false column about a woman who consistently runs out on her marriages. When he travels to the tiny town where she lives to learn more about her life and possibly get his job back, he finds that there is more to her than just a newspaper column.

By the end of the film, there is such a huge media hype about Maggie's wedding that it's a wonder that Ike wasn't honored for his 'false' column about her. Joan Cusack has never looked and acted better than she did in this movie, delivering a wonderful nasally performance that was strangely heartwarming.

Runaway Bride had all kinds of wonderful scenes. I particularly liked the wedding rehearsal scene. The look on Christopher Meloni's face was priceless! There were so many good things about this film that I am able to overlook the superficial look of unoriginality. If you just look past the director and the two big names, the story itself is not at all like any other film. There will, of course, be the inevitable cynical comparisons to Pretty Woman, and these complaints are understandable, but people who condemn Runaway Bride as a rip-off of Pretty Woman or some sort of re-make are simply not looking at the film, but only at the names on the bill. This is a very good romantic comedy, and it should not be missed simply because of a superficial comparison to Pretty Woman.

Despite its formulaic and silly story, Runaway Bride is still a charmer. Julia Roberts has a charisma that buoys up every scene that she's in, even though Richard Gere comes off a little wooden and I don't completely buy their blooming relationship. This romantic comedy swings for the fences and, despite not hitting a home run, it's a movie I wouldn't mind watching again every now and then.

This is a thoroughly contrived film, but a pleasant watch nonetheless. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere still exhibit an easy going chemistry after their blockbuster 'Pretty Woman'. This film though isn't as good. The characters are superficial, and the story unbelievable. However, a lovely romantic sound-track and some soothing romantic moments between the two likable stars carry the film. The humor is mild but generally works. The supporting cast including Hector Elizondo and Joan Cusack work hard to elevate mediocre material using effective comic timing. A pleasant watch at home.

Overall 6/10

After their great chemistry in Pretty Woman it was great to see Gere and Roberts in another comical and romantic film. The producers and director borrow some of the cast and ideas that worked and apply them well. The idea of an unconventional but somewhat realistic love story that is well paced and easy to go with. Not all bad.