Roberts delivers low-key, mature performance in Smile
Art history instructor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) seems
unprepared to handle the overachieving and conformist women of Wellesley College.
Her students, ’50s-era debutantes, think they know all there is to know about
art from their textbooks. But they’re unable and unwilling to form their own
opinions. Forced to consider works by Picasso and Pollack, the students, led
by the snobbish Betty (Kirsten Dunst), dismiss cutting-edge art as unconventional.
However, a few adventurous souls among them, Joan (Julia Stiles) and Giselle
(Maggie Gyllenhaal), seize the new world that’s been offered. By seeing art
from a different perspective, they’re able to see themselves in a new light
as well.
Given that the film’s set during the McCarthy era, paranoia must rear its
ugly head, as Watson is accused of subversive activities because of her radical
teaching methods. The outcome is predictable. Likewise, the love affair between
Watson and the school’s Italian professor (Dominic West) offers few surprises.
Though a bit overlong, the film’s worth a look because of the strong work from
the four leads — especially Roberts, who gives an uncharacteristically low-key
and mature performance.
What other critics are saying. . .
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [PG-13]
Final part of trilogy, as hobbits Frodo and Sam journey to Mount Doom in Mordor.
“As a model for how to bring substance, authenticity and insight to the biggest
of adventure yarns, this trilogy will not soon, if ever, find its equal.” (Kenneth
Turan, Los Angeles Times)Showplace
East, Showplace West
Love Don’t Cost a Thing [PG-13] A high-school loser (Nick Cannon) wants to be cool, so he hires a cheerleader (Christina Milian) to pose as his girlfriend. “It’s unclear why a remake of 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love was necessary.” (Nicholas Schager, Slant magazine) Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace East
Something’s Gotta Give [PG-13] Fifty-something Erica Barry (Diane
Keaton) plays reluctant host to her daughter’s 60-something boyfriend, Harry
(Jack Nicholson), and sparks fly. “Something’s Gotta Give can be formulaic,
but watching the incandescent Nicholson and Keaton, all loose and funny and
sharing jokes about reading glasses, is a rare treat.” (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution) ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Stuck on You [PG-13]The relationship between co-joined twins Bob (Matt Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear) gets tested when Walt convinces them to move to LA. Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace East
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2003.
