Richard Gere Falls in Love With a Pretty Woman, That's Original
Nine years ago Richard Gere and Julia Roberts charmed American movie audiences (and audinces all around the world) in the movie that made romantic comedies fashionable again, Pretty Woman, and there was a buzz around Hollywood that they had found the couple of actors that could charm audiences again and again a la Hepburn and Tracey, but they haven't made a movie since. Until Runaway Bride, another two word movie by the same director Garry Marshall (Director of such movies as Pretty Woman, Beaches and Frankie and Johnny and the creator of such classic television shows "Mork and Mindy," "Lavern and Shirly," "Happy Days," and "The Odd Couple") and starring the pair of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. However this time around it's Julia Roberts who is in the drivers seat of her career and who gets top billing and the most screen time, but Runaway Bride still has the chemestry between Gere and Roberts that made Pretty Woman a hit... and Roberts didn't even have to be a hooker for this one.
Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) right before she bolts
Some men just don't like women... I mean they like them (wink wink, nudge nudge), but they aren't particularly fond of them. They think that most of them are just manhaters who are just trying to trap us men so they can either bleed us dry or hurt us from the get go. Ike Graham (Richard Gere, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear) is the President of this little club. As a columnist for USA Today he has dedicated his columns to exposing the maneates for what they are. When Ike hears the story of Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts, Notting Hill, Stepmom, Pretty Woman), who has been nickname the Runaway Bride for agreeing to marry three previous suitors and then fleeing just as she reaches the alter, from some guy in a bar it is too good to pass up so he writes a scathing column using Maggie to prove that women are evil. After Maggie reads the column she writes a equally scathing letter to Ike's editor, and ex-wife Ellie (Rita Wilson, Psycho, Jingle All The Way) pointing out the inaccuaracies in the column. Ellie is forced to fire Ike for such careless journalism and Ike can't believe it. The only thing he can do is try to prove that Maggie is the man hater he wrote about by going to her home town and witnessing her fourth attempt at matrimony. Ike arrives and is dissapointed to learn that Maggie really isn't an evil, heartless maneater that he expected but a caring individual who is just a little confused every time she agrees to get married. Unfortunately for Bob (Christopher Meloni, Twelve Monkeys), aka Victim Number Four, she is just as confused this time around as she starts to fall for Ike. Predictably Ike and Maggie fall in love and Maggie dumps Bob so she can marry Ike. But is Ike really the man for Maggie, or has he become the substitued Victim Number Four?
Ike Graham (Richard Gere) tries not to love Maggie, but he does
Runaway Bride has the one thing that really made Pretty Woman an instant romantic comedy classic... the chemistry between Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. It also has something I don't really recall Pretty Woman having, a very good supporting cast with great comedic timing of there own. At the top of the supporting list is Joan Cusack who plays Peggy Flemming, Maggie's eccentric best friend. Her performance picks up the pieces when it isn't Gere and Roberts together to add a new comedy driven chemistry to suppliment the romance. Unfortunately, this movie just doesn't do anything that is extraordinary compared to movies that were released as recently as this summer by the same leading actress. It may have romance and a few laughs, but personally I thought Notting Hill had better romance between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and a lot more laughs with one of the most funny supporting casts ever in a romantic comedy. All in all, Runaway Bride has some moments... but nothing that makes it shine as a classic...
