Garry Marshall directs Julia Roberts, Richard Gere and Joan Cusack in this romcom where a journalist investigates a small town girl who keeps dumping men at the altar… only for him to fall for her during the run-up to her next potential big day.

A big release back in the day as it essentially was marketed as an indirect sequel to Pretty Woman. Same team, same vibe, and in true 1990s Hollywood fashion, eventually 60% of the original’s box office take. The studio and talent walked away with a decent payday. Audiences less so. The bloated, listlessness of it all certainly is not Roberts fault. She excels within her wheelhouse; the smile, the legs, the laugh are all trotted out. Gere feels out of place… he’s no Cary Grant or Billy Crystal or Kevin Kline. He struggles with the decent jokes and definitely can’t cover up the bad ones. The film ambles along, relying on a deep ensemble of supports, none of whom really justify their often over qualified presence. Marshall likes a nice busy cast so he can mix up his reaction shots and toppers but it ends up a little too overcrowded here. Everyone seems stifled by everyone else and the inherent cynicism of the project allows very little for us to do but groan about the mechanics of it all. Undemanding but almost begrudgingly so.

4

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