Exactly as it should be

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2001)

This is a great movie, because it succeeded in what set out to do.
It sets out to create a fairy tale and place it in a modern setting. The
characters know that this film isn't realistic, the audience knows it
and the movie makers knew it. Anyone who critiques this film for
not being realistic enough is missing the film's point. It is a myth
as old as human psychology and I see no harm in updating it for a
modern audience. The true test of the film is the chemistry of the lead actors and
the effectiveness of touching the core of the human longing for
something better. I found Gere, who is often painful to watch, to be
quite well matched with Roberts and I felt the story, although
sometimes trite, to be very effective in communicating the undying
Cinderella fantasy. If one more user comments on this site to
remind us that dreams like these never materialize, I believe I will
scream. Film and stories sometimes to show us what we are, but
sometimes they are meant to show us what we would like to be.
This film does that quite well.