Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Those of you who like the popular genre of an eccentric, determined teacher reaching a bunch of tough inner city kids will not like Mona Lisa Smile. It’s much more akin to Dead Poet’s Society than Blackboard Jungle. Julia Roberts is hired to teach at Wellesley in the 1950s, and she’s surprised by what she finds in her all-girls students. The featured girls are Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ginnifer Goodwin, and they’re all brilliant and enthusiastic about their studies. They know far more about art history than Ms. Roberts bargained for, so she finds herself being challenged as well. But, when she tries to get them to dig deeper, she finds out all they really want to do is get married, not have careers with their smart minds.
Did she forget the movie takes place in the 1950s? Every girl in that era went to college to her “MRS” degree. Why was she shocked? And, why was she acting like such a hypocrite; after hours, she discovers the most important thing in the world herself. She has a romance with Dominic West, all the while educating her students on the importance of prioritizing themselves over men.
I think Julia Roberts really did forget the era and setting of the film. It was bad enough to grossly miscast her as an educator, but to put her in a period piece showed extremely poor judgment. She delivers every line, every gimmicky facial expression, and every signature laugh the same way she does in every single movie. She’s Julia Roberts, just in a different costume. I was shocked, especially since this movie came after her Oscar. You’d think an Academy Award winning actress would want to show her award was justified, instead of ruining what might have been a good movie by phoning in a performance that could have been taken from outtakes from Pretty Woman.
I really wanted to like this movie. I grew up watching teen movies from Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles, and I was just starting to love the beautiful new star Maggie Gyllenhaal. But the leading lady completely ruined any enjoyment I might have had.
More Kirsten Dunst movies here!
More Julia Stiles movies here!
Did she forget the movie takes place in the 1950s? Every girl in that era went to college to her “MRS” degree. Why was she shocked? And, why was she acting like such a hypocrite; after hours, she discovers the most important thing in the world herself. She has a romance with Dominic West, all the while educating her students on the importance of prioritizing themselves over men.
I think Julia Roberts really did forget the era and setting of the film. It was bad enough to grossly miscast her as an educator, but to put her in a period piece showed extremely poor judgment. She delivers every line, every gimmicky facial expression, and every signature laugh the same way she does in every single movie. She’s Julia Roberts, just in a different costume. I was shocked, especially since this movie came after her Oscar. You’d think an Academy Award winning actress would want to show her award was justified, instead of ruining what might have been a good movie by phoning in a performance that could have been taken from outtakes from Pretty Woman.
I really wanted to like this movie. I grew up watching teen movies from Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles, and I was just starting to love the beautiful new star Maggie Gyllenhaal. But the leading lady completely ruined any enjoyment I might have had.
More Kirsten Dunst movies here!
More Julia Stiles movies here!