# Runaway Bride (1999)

### reviewed by
David Sunga

    RUNAWAY BRIDE (1999)

    Rating: 2 stars (out of 4.0)
    ********************************
    Key to rating system:
    2.0 stars - Debatable
    2.5 stars - Some people may like it
    3.0 stars - I liked it
    3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
    4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
    *********************************
    A Movie Review by David Sunga

    Directed by: Garry Marshall

Written by: Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott

Starring: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere

Synopsis: Small town bride Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) has been nicknamed the runaway bride for leaving various men stranded at the altar. On three different occasions Maggie has gotten cold feet and dumped the groom by running away in the middle of the wedding ceremony. Because she's too used to playing along rather than asserting what she really wants Maggie just can't make the big commitment.

When cynical USA Today columnist Ike Graham (Richard Gere) blows into town to cover Maggie's fourth wedding attempt and write a nasty article, he ends up falling in love with Maggie.

Opinion: After nine years PRETTY WOMAN director Garry Marshall and stars Roberts and Gere are reunited for another romance, apparently in the hopes they'll cash in on the PRETTY WOMAN nostalgia crowd. While RUNAWAY BRIDE does provide the nostalgia of seeing Roberts and Gere reunited in romance, it lacks two key ingredients: warmth and conviction.

As city slicker Ike Graham, Gere is condescending to the rural folk, treating all townspeople like idiots to be easily swindled and charmed. The townspeople actually vindicate this view by acting like rubes, dolts and alcoholics, especially during the pre-wedding dinner. RUNAWAY BRIDE's portrayal of rural people as self-absorbed, unintelligent, or drunk never wavers, and this is how the film loses charm.

The token characters that Roberts and Gere play aren't written with conviction. Maggie says her basic problem is that she is unable to assert her individualism. But how come in her spare time she kickboxes and creates unique art? Similarly, Ike Graham is supposed to be from New York, but his New York accent occasionally vanishes.

RUNAWAY BRIDE is an okay movie for taking the wife or girlfriend because it is a paint-by-numbers romance, because crowd favorites Roberts and Gere are easy protagonists to cheer for, and because the movie contains at least one great commercial for Federal Express. But if you hate predictable movies you'd better buy yourself a big cup of coffee.

    Reviewed by David Sunga
    August 1, 1999

Copyright © 1999 by David Sunga This review and others like it can be found at THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com email: zookeeper@criticzoo.com

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