for more " movie views by jamey hughton " visit : <a href= " http : //welcome . to/movieviews " >http : //welcome . to/movieviews</a> runaway bride is a pretty woman reunion that feels more light and fluffy than it's predecessor . but , despite it's obvious tone and rather formulaic script , it still manages to be a crowd-pleaser . the stars do a great deal to enliven what is actually a sub-par romance . richard gere plays ike graham , a usa today columnist who is desperate for a story idea . through an acquaintance in a bar , he discovers information that could make for interesting reading : a small-town girl named maggie carpenter ( julia roberts ) , dubbed as the `runaway bride' , has become notorious for leaving her groom at the alter for a series of up to 7 or 8 incidents . graham , rushing to meet the deadline , types up the column to have it published in the paper the following day . but the real maggie carpenter spots the headline , and does not appreciate the gross exaggerations that graham uses in his writing style ( she insists it was only three times that she high-tailed it out of a wedding ) . his editor ( and ex-wife , played by rita wilson ) ends up firing ike , but a friend ( played by hector elizondo ) offers him another chance to get his facts straight . and so the big city boy goes off to hale , maryland to investigate the real truth and attempt to express his apologies to maggie . who knows , the two might even fall for each other in the end . . . . . . it was a wise move for director gary marshall to return to his romance roots and try to re-invent his biggest hit . lately , marshall has been lagging seriously behind ( i'm pretty sure exit to eden didn't make any ten best lists ) . this reunion with roberts and gere should be a sure-fire hit , and even if the material is recycled scrap , the presentation is modestly charming and always watchable . both stars look pretty enough to single-handedly save any film , no matter how terribly the script may be constructed . runaway bride is predictable , to say the least , but it has a certain charm . the supporting cast is made up of largely familiar faces , including another pretty woman vet : hector elizondo . elizondo stole many scenes in the 1990 film as a courteous hotel owner , and his performance here is again impressive . joan cusack , as maggie's quirky best friend , is basically typecast once again and injects a lot of natural humor into the proceedings . the two lead characters hate each other so much it seems impossible that they'll end up together . minimal sparks fly between roberts and gere , but they both turn in believable performances , even as they are being pushed toward a highly improbable happy ending . star power is the glue that holds this film together . the script has all the regular clichés associated with this kind of film , and reliance on the lead performances is huge . the set-up has some obvious problems , but once runaway bride gets into a natural flow , it's easy to enjoy . but please , next time spare us some of the humor associated with maggie's perverted grandmother , who explains in detail her disastrous honeymoon night . this is a light romantic comedy , and a character like hers seems somewhat out of place . this is julia roberts' second summer romance ( the first was notting hill ) , and she has submitted another charming performance . still , this remains pretty woman-lite . the pg rating ensures the film is suitable for family viewing , but it also adds some restrictions . someone searching for a sweet escape to the theater could do far worse than runaway bride , if they are in the mood for something fitfully entertaining but not terribly original . this has been done a dozen times before , but never with this kind of star charisma . 
