Lisa Roberts Gillan
Set in 1953, Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a new young art history professor at Wellesley College, an all-female campus with a prestigious reputation for academic excellence. Unfortunately for free-minded Berkeley grad Watson, her East Coast teaching stint comes during a less-progressive time that finds most of her students -- among them Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), and Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- more interested in nabbing a good husband than achieving scholastic and intellectual growth. Watson challenges her students and the Wellesley faculty to think outside of the current mores of the community and redefine what it means to be a success; meanwhile, she tries to come to terms with her own heart's desires. Mona Lisa Smile co-stars Marcia Gay Harden, Juliet Stevenson, and, as Watson's conflicting love interests, Dominic West and John Slattery. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, (more)
Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, (more)
In 1990, Pretty Woman turned Julia Roberts into a star and gave Richard Gere's career a much-needed boost; for 1999, Roberts and Gere reunited with director Garry Marshall for the romantic comedy Runaway Bride. Roberts plays Maggie, who has left so many prospective husbands at the altar that she has gained notoriety as "the Runaway Bride," and a reporter (played by Richard Gere) is assigned to write a story about her. He tracks her down to a small town in Maryland where she's spending time with her family and preparing to give marriage another try. However, the more time she spends with the persistent reporter, the more second thoughts she has about her fiancé (Christopher Meloni). Hector Elizondo, another Pretty Woman alumnus, appears in the supporting cast alongside Joan Cusack, Paul Dooley, and Rita Wilson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, (more)
- 1999
This 200th episode of Law & Order is set in motion when a professor of philosophy is pushed in front of a subway train. Investigating the murder, detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) must deal with a wily suspect (Jay O. Sanders) who changed his identity and place of residence after a bitter divorce and child-custody battle. Can the key to the mystery be found with the suspect's ex-wife, or with the children he "appropriated" before taking flight? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
