P.J. HOGAN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BBB.5. 

USA, 1997.  TriStar Pictures, Zucker Brothers Productions, Predawn Productions.  Screenplay by Ronald Bass.  Cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs.  Produced by Ronald Bass, Jerry Zucker.  Music by James Newton Howard.  Production Design by Richard Sylbert.  Costume Design by Jeffrey Kurland.  Film Editing by Garth Craven, Lisa Fruchtman.  

Julia Roberts wins back her Pretty Woman audience in this enjoyable comedy that is a decided improvement over the Garry Marshall happy-hooker romance, but not nearly as good as director P.J. Hogan’s previous effort Muriel’s Wedding.  Roberts plays a newspaper food critic who realizes upon hearing that her best friend and ex-boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney) is getting married to a sweet, wealthy socialite (Cameron Diaz) that she has really loved him all along and must win him back. Delightful musical numbers, an excellent performance by Diaz and a cast of fine character actors make up for the fact that Roberts avoids alienating her audience by never being as truly evil as she keeps threatening to be.  Rupert Everett absolutely steals the show as her gay best friend masquerading as her fiance to inspire jealousy in Mulroney.

Academy Award Nomination:  Best Original Score-Musical/Comedy

Golden Globe Award Nominations:  Best Picture-Musical/Comedy; Best Actress-Musical/Comedy (Julia Roberts); Best Supporting Actor (Rupert Everett)