Runaway Bride (1999 film)
| Runaway Bride | |
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| Directed by | Garry Marshall |
| Produced by | Ted Field Tom Rosenberg Scott Kroopf Robert W. Cort |
| Written by | Josann McGibbon Sara Parriott Audrey Wells |
| Starring | Julia Roberts Richard Gere Joan Cusack |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Stuart Dryburgh |
| Editing by | Bruce Green |
| Studio | Paramount Pictures Touchstone Pictures Lakeshore Entertainment Interscope Communications |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (USA & Canada) Buena Vista International (International) |
| Release date(s) | July 30, 1999 |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million |
| Box office | $309,457,509 |
Runaway Bride is a 1999 American romantic comedy film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay was written by Josann McGibbon, Audrey Wells and Sara Parriott.
Contents |
Plot [edit]
Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) is a spirited and attractive young woman who has had a number of unsuccessful relationships. Maggie, nervous of being married, has left a trail of fiances. It seems, she's left three men waiting for her at the altar on their wedding day (all of which are caught on tape), receiving tabloid fame and the dubious nickname "The Runaway Bride".
Meanwhile, in New York, columnist Homer Eisenhower Graham or "Ike" (Richard Gere), writes an article about her that contains several factual errors, supplied to him by a man he meets in a bar who Ike later learns was one of Maggie's former fiancés. Ike is fired for not verifying his source, but is invited to write an in-depth article about Maggie in a bid to restore his reputation. He travels to Hale, Maryland, where he finds Maggie living with her family and on her fourth attempt to become married. The fourth groom-to-be, Bob Kelly (Christopher Meloni), is a football coach at the local high school who is fond of using sports analogies to help Maggie with her concerns. He constantly makes references to Maggie "focusing" on the goal-line in reference to their pending nuptials. As Ike starts going around town to meet her friends, family, and former fiancés, Maggie becomes frustrated and feels he is getting the story wrong again.
Ike begins to cooperate with Maggie on the story, Maggie being interested in getting him to publish the truth, and the two become closer to each other the more time they spend together. During his research for the story, Ike realizes that Maggie is adjusting her interests to mimic those of her fiancés in order to please them. This is signified most prominently by her choice of eggs, which changes with each fiancé. At a pre-wedding celebration for her and Bob, Ike defends Maggie from the public mockery she starts receiving from her family and guests, and Maggie walks outside due to the embarrassment. Ike then confronts Maggie outside about his realization regarding her relationships.
In the midst of the wedding rehearsal, Bob tries to help Maggie deal with her wedding anxieties by walking her down the aisle with Ike standing in as the groom. After Bob gets her to the altar, Ike and Maggie share a passionate kiss and admit their feelings for one another, to Bob's chagrin. As a result, he punches Ike in the face before storming out of the church. Soon after, Ike proposes that he and Maggie get married since the wedding is already set to take place. But on the day of the wedding, Maggie gets cold feet, and leaves Ike standing at the altar. Ike chases after her but she hitches a ride on a FedEx truck and gets away.
Later, we see Ike living in New York and Maggie trying to discover herself, trying different types of eggs, and putting her lighting designs up for sale in New York. She shows up unexpectedly at Ike's apartment one night where he finds her making friends with his cat, Italics. Maggie then explains that she had been running because every other guy she was engaged to was only engaged to the idea she had created for them rather than the real her, but with Ike she ran because, even though he truly understood her, she didn't understand herself. She "turns in" her running shoes just before proposing to Ike. The two are married in a private ceremony outside, on a hill, avoiding the big ceremonies that Maggie notes she never actually liked. In the end, they are shown riding away on horseback while everyone celebrates the fact that Maggie finally got married.
Cast [edit]
- Julia Roberts as Maggie Carpenter- A woman who has run away from 3 weddings but is hoping not to do so on her fourth wedding attempt
- Richard Gere as Ike Graham- a New York City news reporter who writes an article about Maggie and later falls in love with her. His real name is Homer
- Joan Cusack as Peggy Flemming - "not the ice skater"; this is a running gag in the film
- Héctor Elizondo as Fisher
- Christopher Meloni as Bob Kelly
- Paul Dooley as Walter Carpenter
- Rita Wilson as Ellie Graham
- Lisa Roberts Gillan as Elaine from Manhattan
- Donal Logue as Priest Brian Norris
- Reg Rogers as George "Bug Guy" Swilling
- Yul Vazquez as Dead Head Gill Chavez
- Kathleen Marshall as Cousin Cindy
- Sela Ward as Pretty woman in bar
- Garry Marshall (uncredited) as First softball baseman
- Laurie Metcalf (uncredited) as Betty Trout
- Larry Miller (uncredited) as NY bartender Kevin
- Emily Eby (uncredited) as reporter
Production history [edit]
The film was in development for over a decade. Actors attached at various times: Anjelica Huston, Mary Steenburgen, Lorraine Bracco, Geena Davis, Demi Moore, Sandra Bullock, Ellen DeGeneres, Téa Leoni (for the role of Maggie); Christopher Walken, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas (for the role of Ike) and Ben Affleck (for the role of Bob). Director Michael Hoffman was attached. Writers Elaine May and Leslie Dixon did unused rewrites.[1]
The theme song is titled "Before I Fall in Love" and is sung by Coco Lee.
Release [edit]
Box office [edit]
The film opened on July 30, 1999 with $12,000,000 on its opening day.[2] In its opening weekend, Runaway Bride peaked at #1 with $35,055,556.[3]
By the end of its run, the film had grossed $152,257,509 domestically and an international $157,200,000, altogether making $309,457,509 worldwide.[4]
Critical reception [edit]
The film earned positive to mixed reviews.[5][6][7][8] While Richard Gere and Julia Roberts were liked in their second film since Pretty Woman, viewers and critics felt the film was not as good as it could have been. Originally, Marshall was going to do a Pretty Woman sequel, but he let the sequel sit on the back burner and did this movie instead.
References [edit]
- ^ "'Bride's' Long, Long Path to the Altar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Witch Chases 'Bride'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for July 30-August 1, 1999". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
- ^ "Runaway Bride (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
- ^ "It Looked Good on Paper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Review Roberts runs away with hearts in Runaway Bride". CNN. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "Runaway Bride". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
- ^ "FILM REVIEW; Pretty Woman Is Back, But Now She's Cautious". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
External links [edit]
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Runaway Bride (1999 film) |
- Runaway Bride at the Internet Movie Database
- Runaway Bride at the TCM Movie Database
- Runaway Bride at AllRovi
- Runaway Bride at Box Office Mojo
- Film stills
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- English-language films
- 1999 films
- 1990s romantic comedy films
- American romantic comedy films
- American screwball comedy films
- Films directed by Garry Marshall
- Films set in Maryland
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in Maryland
- Interscope Communications films
- Lakeshore Entertainment films
- Touchstone Pictures films
- Paramount Pictures films
