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Throughout most of the 1990s , Julia Roberts was the highest - pay actress in Hollywood . She receive her first Oscar nominating address for her role as the doomed bride Shelby in 1989’sSteel Magnolias . It was the role of Vivian Ward inPretty Woman , though , that turned her into a Hollywood icon .
Roberts finally get ahead the Oscar in 2001 for act as Erin Brockovich in the film of the same name . She continued enjoying success in dissimilar genres , finally also conquering television and streaming . To this day , audiences still relate Roberts with Vivian Ward . However , her CV is ample and varied , and legion other roles could easy lay claim the form of address of being the bestin her respected career .
Vivian Is Best: More Than A Pretty Face
WhenPretty Womanpremiered in 1990 , critic met it with a factious reception . Entertainment Weekly ’s Owen Gleiberman infamously panned the moving-picture show , focus much of his inspection on Julia Roberts ' looks and how " she ’s not beautiful in the way movie stars are . " Other critics called the movie superficial , ugly , and obsessed with appearances and status .
And yet , the film remains popular amongst audiences , in large partbecause of Roberts ' gain ground performance . The actress is lambent on projection screen , flashing that hopeful and contagious million - dollar mark smiling . Pretty Womanmay be somewhat problematic , but Roberts ’s charm is more than enough to help the film overcome its shortcoming .
Elizabeth Gilbert Is Better: Elevating The Material
And speaking of elevating the textile , Roberts does it againin the 2010 movieEat Pray Love , based on Elizabeth Gilbert ’s 2006 memoir . Roberts plays Gilbert , a late divorced char who embarks on a self - uncovering journey around the world .
take by Ryan Murphy , use up Pray Lovedoes little to include the emotional depth of the source cloth . Instead , it opt to concenter on the more shallow parts of Gilbert ’s journeying , to the film ’s ultimate detriment . Still , Roberts shines through the mess , hand over an irresistible functioning full of warmth and empathy .
Vivian Is Best: A Timeless Classic
Thirty - one years after its premiere , Pretty Womanstill bear a limited place in pop culture . There are many thing that modern - solar day audiences would convert about the story , but that does n’t make the film any less pop .
For a while , Pretty Womanenjoyed a " guilty pleasure " condition . These days , however , audiences are willing to reclaim the flick ’s bequest , take it for what it is , flaw and all . The movie perfectly captures a specific clip in American civilisation when success meant money and condition . And while those construct are outdated by today ’s standard , the film remains a relic of a bypast time .
Anna Scott Is Better: A Timeless Star
Notting Hilloften goes unnoticed when discussing Julia Roberts ' filmography . It ’s easy to blank out thatthe picture was both a decisive triumphand a immense box office achiever . However , it is n’t as recognizable as Roberts’Pretty Womanor Hugh Grant’sFour Weddings And A Funeral , and that ’s a shame .
Roberts plays Anna Scott , a universe - famed actress who falls for a small bookshop owner . The tale oozes with charm and intimacy , and Roberts and Grant share a alchemy that ’s both soft and electric . Notting Hilloften repeats how cock-a-hoop a lead Anna Scott is and how timeless she is . If it was any other actress , audience might react with skepticism . But when it ’s Julia Roberts , there ’s no way of denying it .
Vivian Is Best: Becoming An A-Lister
Despite already have a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination to her name , Julia Roberts still was n’t a Hollywood star in 1990 . The handout ofPretty Womanchanged that . The movie was a Brobdingnagian box seat office success and propelled Roberts to instant A - listing position .
She won a second Golden Globe and receive another Oscar nomination , consolidate herself as a star with commercial and decisive appealingness . During the rest of the ten , Roberts cemented her topographic point as Hollywood ’s leading lady , eventually becoming the highest - bear actress in the business .
Julianne Potter Is Better: An Unconventional Romantic Lead
During the mid - mid-nineties , Roberts ' career gain a economic crisis . Movies like 1995’sSomething to sing Aboutand 1996’sMary Reillywere critical and commercial disappointments . Success came back to her door thanks to the 1997 quixotic comedyMy Best Friend ’s hymeneals .
Roberts make for Julianne Potter , a food critic who , after realizing she ’s in love with her best friend , goes out of her way to stop him from getting wed . The role is atypical for a rom - com lede , and audiences welcomed the change . Julianne is zippy and selfish but still charming and likeable . My Best Friend ’s Weddingwas a seditious twist on a well - know genre that proved Roberts was still a star like no other .
Vivian Is Best: Consolidating A Genre
The romantic comedy musical genre is as erstwhile as Hollywood itself . Movies likeThe Philadelphia Story , Roman Holiday , andAdam ’s Ribare prime exemplar of the genre in classical Hollywood . The romantic comedy suffered a diminution during the seventies and early eighties . It came back and reached a peak in term of quality and relevance in the late eighties and early 1990s .
Movies likeMoonstruck , When Harry Met Sally , Sleepless in Seattle , and of course , Pretty Womanrevitalized the genre , make believe it relevant once again . Roberts became the de - facto queen mole rat of the genre , a rubric she share with Meg Ryan throughout most of the 1990s .
Erin Brockovich Is Better: Oscar!
After two nominations , Roberts finally won her Oscar for playing Erin Brockovich in Steven Soderbergh’sbiopic of the same name . The film tells the true storey of the title character , who successfully fought the PG&E conglomerate for its involution in the Hinkley weewee contamination incident .
The celluloid was not only critically acclaimed but also a commercial-grade success . WithErin Brockovich , Roberts received the practiced reviews of her vocation . She is the story ’s heart and someone , appearing in nearly every picture of the plastic film and predominate every minute . Her bearing looms with child , authorised , and effervescent , delivering every line with fiery sentence .
Vivian Is Best: An Instant Icon
Vivian Ward is an undeniable cinematic ikon . From the consequence she first appears , with her wild red hair and black thigh - high boot , she becomes an unerasable part of film history . Pretty Womanis full of memorable moments , from Vivian laughing before submerging into a tubful full of bubbles to her makeover to the melodic phrase of Ray Orbison ’s classic " Oh , Pretty Woman,“to her opera dark in that unforgettable scarlet dress .
Through and through , it ’s Roberts ' incandescence that powers Vivian . The actress ’s resistless spell create a sweet and charming persona that ’s impossible to dislike . And even with the movies ' flaw and dated thought , fans still have sex to see Vivian tell those snobby sale girls off .
Barbara Weston Is Better: A Tour De Force
It ’s not easygoing give-up the ghost toe - to - toe with an acting heavyweight like Meryl Streep . Yet Roberts does it and makes it expect effortless in the family unit dramaAugust : Osage County . The movie tells the story of a dysfunctional family , led by an fluid and drug - addicted mother , that reunites for the patriarch ’s funeral .
Roberts plays the firstborn daughter , Barbara , an embittered adult female who originate tired of her kinsfolk ’s antics . The movie has so much acting that it threatens to overwhelm , but Streep and Roberts stand tall among the wreckage . The movie ’s pivotal dinner party shot , in which both actresses get their moment to shine , is an acting tour de military unit and the perfect example of the heights Roberts can reach with the right part .
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