doesn't capitalize on Julia Roberts' charm. The dramatic genre has never been her forte. She's been very successful at the box office in romantic comedies (Pretty Woman, My Best Friend's Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride) and thrillers (Sleeping with the Enemy, Pelican Brief). However, her dramatic roles have led to varying results. Only when they tap into her spitfire southern charm, as in Something to Talk About and Erin Brokovich, can she negotiate through slightly heavier material. huh, ok.
Now that she has her Oscar (which felt like a lifetime achievement award ala Susan Sarandon and Jessica Langes' wins the last decade, despite her still young age), her career has kicked it into low gear. ..[Here she is] trying to tell a bunch of up-and-coming Hollywood protégés that art is important and we must let it challenge us. I think she should stay away from characters making such assertions, because she herself is an actress who doesn't participate in challenging art herself, nor should she. I believe her best performance was in "My Best Friend's Wedding." She was a selfish single-woman who was a trouble-maker and a lot of fun.
IMDb user comments for Mona Lisa Smile (2003) Author: vatz from So Cal