Runaway Bride | |
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Theatrical release poster
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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
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Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (USA & Canada) Buena Vista International (International) |
Release date
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Running time
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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.
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.