The 'Pretty Woman' is back in 'Runaway Bride'

By Rayya Makarim

JAKARTA (JP): Can giving someone a pair of smelly running shoes be a sign of true love? In the romantic comedy Runaway Bride, it certainly is. After nine years, this film teams up Pretty Woman stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere with director Garry Marshall for a similarly breezy, feel-good screen experience.

The movie is excellent in setting up its premise. It opens with a bride galloping across the fields on a horse with U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For playing in the background. It might be a little heavy handed on the music, but definitely is a self-explanatory scene. From beautiful green pastures, the film cuts to the bustling sound of New York traffic and the sight of construction workers. Immediately, we are introduced to Ike Graham (Richard Gere), complete with cellular phone and all. In a few lines of dialog, we discover that Ike is a columnist for USA Today who is lost for ideas and on a deadline. So what does he do? He visits the local bar, of course.

Ike learns of Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) from Maryland who repetitively dumps her husbands-to-be at the altar. Within minutes he churns out a column describing her as a woman who "dresses men up as grooms and devours them". Surprisingly -- or maybe not -- they read USA Today in fictional Hale, Maryland. Maggie, who is planning wedding number four with coach Bob (Christopher Meloni), writes a furious letter to the editor accusing Ike of misrepresentation of facts -- 15 to be precise. After being fired by his editor, ex-wife Ellie (Rita Wilson), Ike heads off for Hale in search of vindication. As for the rest, one can imagine a predictable Hollywood tale of initial animosity that transforms into happy love.

Runaway Bride does not try to offer serious or intellectual matter. The portrayal of small towns and the people there as well as the inhabitants of New York City, for example, are immersed in stereotypes. Cowboy hats, flannel shirts, trucks, boots, lots of kids (twins, triplets, etc.), and a barbershop quartet are all features of the friendly town of Hale, where everybody knows each other. In fact, Ike finds himself in a jam session with the mayor and police chief. New Yorkers, on the other hand, are all in black, wearing sunglasses indoors, while carrying around cellular phones. It is full of cliches, yet there is a certain deliberation that makes it hilarious.

Marshall's film moves with ease, probably because all the characters are likable. We love how the camera lingers on Julia Roberts' face as she effortlessly shifts her expressions of annoyance to awkwardness to confusion. The supporting cast also add color and warmth to the film. A more than usual sedate Joan Cusack plays Peggy, Maggie's best friend who is always full of moral support. Paul Dooley is Maggie's heavy drinking dad, Walter, who delivers great lines like: "Wedding cake freezes. This we know."

The happy reunion of the Pretty Woman group not only guarantees a box office success, but also a string of good laughs. There is an amusing scene where Grammy (Jean Schertler) accidentally stitches Ike's sweater to the wedding veil, which is an appropriate and ingenious foreshadowing technique. Another one that will have the audience in the aisles is when she convinces Ike that Maggie is not afraid of the wedding day, but of the wedding night and the one-eyed snake. Other humorous moments are provided by Maggie's fiance, Bob, who insists on coaching his future wife through wedding rehearsals using visualization techniques as if it was a sport.

As the third member of the cast in the 1991 hit, it is a pity that Hector Elizondo had so little screen time in this film. He did, however, get to deliver some good lines. In a scene where again Maggie runs, this time on a Federal Express, Ellie asks her husband Fisher (Elizondo) where she is going. Fisher calmly replies, "Wherever it is, she'll be there at 10:30 tomorrow."

The only person who is not funny is Richard Gere. Ike Graham is supposed to be funny, but Gere just isn't. Gere always looks comfortable in a suit. He's charming, suave and handsome, but not funny. In Pretty Woman his character worked because he didn't have to be funny. In Runaway Bride, however, the character demands a little more from this actor. Unfortunately, Gere tries a little too hard and instead fails to capture the pettiness and silliness of his onscreen character.

For those who loved Pretty Woman, there are scenes in the new film that are clearly reminiscent of the Cinderella fairy tale. During a family dinner at Maggie's house, Ike struggles with trying to eat crabs. There is also a scene where Maggie tries on a wedding dress that captivates the smooth, fast-talking columnist. Yet unlike Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride does run into deeper issues.

Maggie has a problem with her identity. She molds herself around the men she is about to marry. In addition, with jokes like "always a bride, never a bridesmaid" and "Hale's fastest, as opposed to longest, running joke," Maggie has a very real fear of commitment that at times seems almost tragic.

After the less commercial hits of Dear God and Exit to Eden, Marshall is back with what he does best; that is, putting two people together and lighting a spark. With the help of writers Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon, the man who was responsible for Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy succeeds in bringing us a fairy tale that is rooted in the possible. After Runaway Bride, we will surely want to surrender our running shoes to the one we love.