Cheap Mona Lisa Smile (DVD) (Mike Newell) Price

Julia Roberts's command of the screen is so effortless, it's easy for moviegoers to take her for granted--but we shouldn't. Mona Lisa Smile--about a noncomformist teacher at a private school who encourages students to pursue their individuality--is pretty much an all-girls version of Dead Poets Society that mixes '50s fashions with '70s feminist thought. However, its lack of ambition doesn't diminish the talent that's gone into it: The writing and directing are well-honed and skillful; the actors--a talent-studded cast featuring Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, and Juliet Stevenson--are uniformly excellent. But without question, Mona Lisa Smile rides on Roberts's shoulders and she carries it with ease. She's possibly the only contemporary actor who simply owns a movie the way Bette Davis, Jean Arthur, or Claudette Colbert once did, radiating a engaging mix of intelligence, drive, and emotional warmth that cannot be matched. --Bret Fetzer

CATEGORY:	DVD
DIRECTOR:	Mike Newell
THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE:	19 December, 2003
MANUFACTURER:	Sony Pictures
MPAA RATING:	PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
FEATURES:	AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
TYPE:	Adult Situations, Bittersweet, College Life, Color, Coming-of-Age, Drama, English, Feature, Feature Film Drama, Feature Film-drama, Feminist Film, Gentle, Heartwarming, Humorous, Movie, Nostalgic, Period Film, Questioning Gender Roles, Sentimental, Sexual Situations
MEDIA:	DVD
MPN:	D10075D
# OF MEDIA:	1
UPC:	043396100756