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Runaway Bride |
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"Do you think there's one right person for everybody?" It's both
a question and a wish in Runaway Bride. And when the credits roll, there
is a "somebody" for everybody. But that's not the end of the story ...
This sugary film reassembles the cast from the 1990 R-rated hit Pretty Woman.
Producers obviously count on chemistry to make this one big too. And it just
might work—at least for a while. Meet Maggie. Three times already, she has
ditched her man at the altar and run like mad. Now she's trying number four.
But wait, look who just entered the scene: Ike Graham, a cynical-yet-sensitive,
world-weary USA Today columnist. The details would spoil the story, so
suffice it to say, groom number four had better be wary.
Positive Elements: Marriage and the commitments that accompany it are placed
in high regard. Sure, Maggie runs screaming every time she looks down the aisle
at a minister, and that's hardly fair to her beaus, but at least she's not going
through with it only to get divorced a year later. Maggie cares deeply for her
dad, who became an alcoholic after his wife died. Moviegoers will also see how
thoughtless jokes at the expense of a family member or friend can really hurt.
Spiritual Content: Maggie, who
isn't even Catholic, goes to confession to ask
the priest if she can "Hail Mary" her way out of
feelings of rage and revenge. She reminds the
priest that he'd better not get cheeky, because
not even ten years earlier, they had been
making out together.
Sexual Content: Innuendo only.
Maggie's grandmother tells her that when she
consummated her marriage, she took a
knitting needle to bed with her, presumably to
tame what she refers to as the "one-eyed
snake." Maggie's fiancé wears a T-shirt
emblazoned with the slogan, "Mountaineers
do it against the wall." At a luau theme party,
Maggie, and a few other women—including a
hula dancer—wear skimpy Hawaiian
costumes. There's talk about a picture of a
topless Maggie at a concert in the '60s (Ike
makes a risqué comment about her nipples).
One passing gay joke is thrown in as
well.
Violent Content: During the
wedding rehearsal, Maggie's fiancé punches
Ike in the face after Ike and Maggie kiss right
in front of him.
Crude or Profane Language: Five
or six minor profanities and a couple of
exclamatory uses of God's name.
Drug and Alcohol Content:
Maggie's father is a drunk, but his alcoholism
is not taken lightly. Ike frequents a bar
in New York City, but isn't shown drinking. A
celebratory bottle of champagne is
uncorked.
Other Negative Elements: A subtle, pro-feminist slant pops up at odd intervals,
and is woven into the story line. Parents should be mindful of this and be on
guard against it. Also, Maggie has an odd habit of breaking into Ike's residences
(a hotel and an apartment). Once, she "steals" some of his things.
Summary: This is of the cleanest love stories to come out of Hollywood
in quite some time. A statement that proves once again that the bar isn't set
all that high anymore (note the caveats above). At first glance Runaway Bride
looks like a runaway success. Watch out if you want to watch it twice, though.
You'll see that the luster's all worn off.
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