Runaway Bride MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +3 Content: +2

Like a breath of almost completely fresh air, Touchstone and Paramount Pictures have come up with a new romantic comedy which is a delight to experience. It stars the very popular couple, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, who have paired together in other hit romantic comedies. This one takes place in a small town in Maryland where Maggie Carpenter, played by Roberts, is planning her wedding. But she's already started down the aisle a few times before, gotten cold feet and run away. And Ike Graham, played by Gere, is betting she will run away from this one, too. If she does, it will be a big human interest story for his newspaper, so he goes to Maggies hometown to cover the wedding. And, of course, as he and Maggie get acquainted, a romantic interest begins to develop between them. Her tendency to run away from weddings continues, however, and both her fianc and Ike are in for some big surprises. This fun, tantalizing romance is full of down home humor, eccentric small town characters, and touching interactions between Ike and Maggie. In our opinion, its the best movie of the summer so far.

And best of all, RUNAWAY BRIDE is not polluted with offensive obscenities and profanities, although it does have some mild and moderate crudities. And Ike and Maggie do not become involved in the kind of premarital sexual affair so commonplace in todays movies. In fact, Ike helps Maggie overcome her fear of weddings and chastises the local folks for making fun of her psychological dilemma. He also helps her become more independent and outspoken. At the same time, Maggie helps Ike deal with his harsh critical attitude toward women. The townspeople are all decent folks, although one of the older ladies is comically attracted to younger men. And some brief comical sexually suggestive remarks, alluding to male genitals and buttocks, are thrown in to avoid a G rating. Also disappointing is the use of the phrase "screwed up" a few times which can have sexual connotations, referring in this film to being fouled up or confused. Overall, RUNAWAY BRIDE makes for a reasonably decent, fun date movie for young couples and adults.

Preview Reviewer: John Evans
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, 15 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023; and Touchstone Pictures/Disney/Buena Vista