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Susan Granger's review of "RUNAWAY BRIDE" (Paramount Pictures)
Ever since "Pretty Woman," Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, and director Garry Marshall have been looking for another project, and this screwball romantic fantasy seems to fit the bill. No, it's not a sequel. It's an entirely different story. Roberts plays Maggie, a small-town charmer who has left three grooms at the altar - a fact that is exaggerated in USA TODAY by a cynical New York columnist, Ike Graham (think Jimmy Breslin) - that's Gere - who bitterly dubs her a "man-eater." She complains to his editor (Rita Wilson), who is also his ex-wife, citing just cause for a defamation lawsuit. He promptly gets fired for exploitive journalism. Determined to vindicate himself and uncover the "real story" for GQ magazine, Ike shows up in bucolic Hale, Maryland, just as Maggie is preparing to marry groom #4, the high-school physical education teacher/coach. "Shazam! It's Mayberry," he mutters just before the barbershop quartet starts. Ike's acerbic; Maggie's defensive. They spar and spat with incredible finesse. But will she bolt once more? No one knows, even her widower father (Paul Dooley) who notes, "Maggie may not be Hale's longest running joke, but she's certainly the fastest." Eventually, Maggie realizes "there's a distinct possibility that I'm profoundly, irreversibly screwed-up." The screenplay by Josann McGibbon, Sara Parriott, and Audrey Wells leaves little doubt in your mind about the outcome but it's deliciously amusing getting there. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Runaway Bride" is a glowing, breezy 8. It's not as quirky and witty as "Notting Hill," Roberts' most recent romantic comedy, and not in the same league as "Pretty Woman." But Gere's glossy and gorgeous, and it's flirty, feel-good fun from beginning to end - a date movie or chick's flick.
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