Runaway Bride (film)

This article is about the 1999 film. For the 1930 film, see The Runaway Bride (film).
Runaway Bride

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Garry Marshall
Produced by Ted Field
Tom Rosenberg
Scott Kroopf
Robert Cort
Written by Josann McGibbon
Sara Parriott
Starring Julia Roberts
Richard Gere
Joan Cusack
Héctor Elizondo
Rita Wilson
Paul Dooley
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Stuart Dryburgh
Edited by Bruce Green
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
(USA & Canada)
Buena Vista International
(International)
Release dates
  • July 30, 1999 (1999-07-30)
Running time
 116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $70 million
Box office $309.4 million

Runaway Bride is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, and stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. The screenplay was written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott.

Plot

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 fiancés. 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 becomes so jealous 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 in Hale and New York (clued in via cell phone by Ike and Maggie's family) celebrates the fact that Maggie finally got married.

A post credit scene shows Maggie and Ike playing in the snow signifying that the relationship is going strong well after the wedding.

Cast

Production history

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]

Much of the film production took place in historic Berlin, Maryland, which was made over to become the fictitious town of Hale, Maryland. Main Street in Berlin, MD as well as some of the landmarks such as the Atlantic Hotel were left nearly as-is during production, while some of the business names on Main Street were changed.

Coco Lee performed the theme song, "Before I Fall in Love."

Release

Box office

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

Runaway Bride received generally mixed reviews from critics.[5][6][7][8] The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 46% rating, with the consensus calling it a "cliché story with lack of chemistry between Richard Gere and Julia Roberts."[9]

References

  1. ↑ "'Bride's' Long, Long Path to the Altar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  2. ↑ "Witch Chases 'Bride'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  3. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for July 30-August 1, 1999". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  4. ↑ "Runaway Bride (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. ↑ "It Looked Good on Paper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  6. ↑ "Review Roberts runs away with hearts in Runaway Bride". CNN. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  7. ↑ "Runaway Bride". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  8. ↑ "FILM REVIEW; Pretty Woman Is Back, But Now She's Cautious". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  9. ↑ "Runaway Bride (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes.
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