The Runaway Bride (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com Member: Online Film Critics Society
*** out of four
Starring Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Christopher Meloni, Joan Cusack. Rated PG.
If I had to name the most common problems with 90's romantic comedies, at the top of the list would be their inherent implausibility. How and why the characters fall in love is barely ever explained; instead we are expected to trust the old Love at First Sight/I Know She Is the One for Me explanation. Sometimes we aren't given any explanation at all: one scene has the soon-to-be couple bickering, fighting and hating each other and then -- boom -- in the next scene they are passionately kissing.
The reason I warmed up to the new Julia Roberts vehicle, none-too-subtly monikered The Runaway Bride, is that it avoids that most common and most frustrating of problems. This is a film that does not ask us to take a gargantuan leap into suspension of disbelief in order for us to accept its premise. It works not only as a comedy but also as a love story; a compelling romance between two people that have a believable future together.
The Runaway Bride reunites the Pretty Woman dream-team of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The latter plays Ike Graham, a much-maligned USA Today newspaper columnist who allegedly writes nothing but "bitter diatribes" about women. Sitting in his favorite bar one day he gets a tip-off of sorts from a fellow sitting next to him: there is a girl in his hometown, he says, who is legendary for ditching grooms at the altar. Ike loves it and decides to write about it. His damning mistake was exaggerating, turning a potentially interesting article into a -- who'd have guessed it -- a bitter diatribe about women and a lie at that.
Maggie Carpenter, the subject of Ike's column/tirade, happens to pick up the paper that day and peruse Mr. Graham's little masterpiece. Lies about her in a national publication don't exactly make her day so she writes a retort to Ike's editor, correcting the 15 -- count 'em -- 15 factual errors he made. The editor (coincidentally his ex-wife) fires him. His friend makes the down-on-his-luck Graham this offer: if he goes to Maggie's hometown and Maggie, currently engaged for the fourth time, runs from the altar again, he gets a cover story in GQ magazine.
Our merry journalist does go to Maggie's hometown and meets Maggie as well some of the colorful characters in her life. There's Peggy, Maggie's sympathetic, supportive friend (played by my favorite actress, Joan Cusack); her stereotypically spunky grandmother, and of course her husband-to-be Coach Bob (Christopher Meloni). Bob is a nice enough guy but Ike can't help but wonder whether he is right for Maggie and more importantly whether he himself has feelings for the legendary Runaway Bride.
The romance that inevitably blooms between Maggie and Ike is, for once, palpable and tangible. They fall in love like real people would. There is no suddenness; the romance develops gradually and believably. We can see not only that they have fallen for each other but also that they can live together for many happy years.
Julia Roberts looks luminously young as Ms. Carpenter and her performance works just as well as her makeup. She's spontaneous, funny and human and so is her character. She pulls her role off with impeccable precision, making us believe that Maggie is a complex adult with real issues as opposed to an indecisive airhead who has ruined many a life with her irresponsible choices. Richard Gere is a bit too sarcastic and impersonal in the first 2/3 of The Runaway Bride but finishes off strong to make his performance a success. And what can I say about Joan Cusack? One of the best working actresses, she is in top form: her performance is fine-tuned and hilarious even though her role is underwritten.
The Runaway Bride likewise benefits from top-notch comic timing. Director Gary Marshall gives his film an even, rhythmic pace and disperses enough delightful gags to make the movie a good comedy in addition to being an exceptional love story. Some of the jokes are cliched, true, but even some of those are funny enough to work.
Like most romantic comedies, this one doesn't say anything exceptionally daring or resonant, but that doesn't prevent it from being a terrific movie. The Runaway Bride is a standout because the romance at its core seems like a real one. In addition to laughing at what we see, we believe it too. That has become so rare in modern movies that The Runaway Bride should be cherished. ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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