Ike Graham, a columnist for USA Today, is fired when he writes a piece about Maggie Carpenter, a young woman from the small town of Hale, Maryland. Maggie has the bad habit of leaving her bridegrooms at the altar. Ike decides to go to Hale, to dig the dirt on Maggie, and she finds, to her annoyance, that her friends and relations are only too willing to give the charming stranger information about her. No prizes for guessing what happens next...
The first thing to say about Runaway Bride is that many people will love it and that it will be very popular. That said, I found this overly calculated, utterly unconvincing showcase for two of Hollywood`s most mannered stars pretty hard to take. Plot details are frankly unbelievable, a popular columnist fired over a single column?, Small-town people betraying one of their own by siding with a total stranger from New York? - and yet the progress of the plot runs along totally predictable lines. At her worst, as she is here, Julia Roberts relies on mannerisms which are truly annoying, and Richard Gere isn`t much better. Joan Cusack, in an amusing but overly familiar, supporting role, does her best. This is the kind of Hollywood confection that sets my teeth on edge.
Margaret`s comments: Is there anyone who doesn`t know what they`re getting with this film? This is the Pretty Woman combo of stardom - Roberts and Gere - and director Marshall. It`s a bit of improbable romantic fluff that dissolves like fairy floss once you`ve seen it. Would any family welcome a journalist who`d embarrassed their daughter in the eyes of the nation? Would a small town? I don`t think so. But romantic comedies are not famous for their credulity. Roberts is charming, she seems to be gaining a confidence that sits nicely in roles like this. Gere is slightly too old and slightly too dour to be matched with this vibrant young woman, but he`s still got charisma. The strength of these sorts of films lies in the subsidiary characters - Joan Cusack`s best friend is funny and solid, the current fianc? Coach Bob - Christopher Meloni - as is Marshall regular Hector Elizondo who`s married to our hero`s ex-wife and ex-editor Rita Wilson. And granny - Jean Schertler - who can recognise a good male butt at a hundred paces is the source of much hilarity.
