Starz-HD East: Mona Lisa Smile 9pm EDT

Sean Mota

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Supporting Founder
Sep 8, 2003
19,039
1,739
New York City
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Summary: Julia Roberts's command of the screen is so effortless, it's easy for moviegoers to take her for granted--but we shouldn't. Mona Lisa Smile--about a noncomformist teacher at a private school who encourages students to pursue their individuality--is pretty much an all-girls version of Dead Poets Society that mixes '50s fashions with '70s feminist thought. However, its lack of ambition doesn't diminish the talent that's gone into it: The writing and directing are well-honed and skillful; the actors--a talent-studded cast featuring Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, and Juliet Stevenson--are uniformly excellent. But without question, Mona Lisa Smile rides on Roberts's shoulders and she carries it with ease. She's possibly the only contemporary actor who simply owns a movie the way Bette Davis, Jean Arthur, or Claudette Colbert once did, radiating a engaging mix of intelligence, drive, and emotional warmth that cannot be matched. --Bret Fetzer
 
This movie was so stale my wife asked me to change it back to Matchstick Men... are you serious?
 
Caught this movie tonight. Guess the previous writer's wife was a Wellsley Grad., huh?
I liked this film and it is the first film I have liked with Julia Roberts since The Pelican Brief.