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Roberts' spotty career means 'Mary Reilly' doesn't look too good

By Prashant Tamaskar
Daily Arts Writer

Julia Roberts is one of those rare performers in the motion picture industry who is not remarkably talented, has not made many good movies, but still receives an enormous amount of publicity.

Unfortunately for Roberts, as one of Hollywood's most prominent actresses, she cannot seem to escape the limelight. Every movie in which she appears becomes a huge event. Consequently, she is in a no-win situation; Roberts' films, regardless of whether or not they are good, never seem to meet the expectations we place on her.

Although she had already been nominated for an Academy Award for her work in "Steel Magnolias," the actress made her mark in Hollywood by later playing the hooker with a heart of gold in "Pretty Woman." It was her role in this film that will forever define her career. Like all prostitutes in similar movies, her character was beautiful, tough and vulnerable; Roberts' portrayal, however, was especially sincere. The extremely entertaining film not only scored well at the box office and earned Roberts another Oscar nomination, but it also created a superstar.

Roberts' next film, "Sleeping With the Enemy," served as the perfect follow up to "Pretty Woman." The credible suspense-thriller provided the actress with an opportunity to carry a film by herself, which she proved she was able to do. Her decision to star in "Sleeping" was a wise and safe career move; this time, the spotlight was solely on Roberts.

However, the downward spiral for the actress began shortly after -- with "Dying Young." In the movie, Roberts plays a nurse who falls in love with a cancer patient. Neither critics nor audiences were able to tolerate the artificial emotions of this barely mediocre film. Lucky for Roberts, though, this film only minimally affected her power as a superstar.

Yet what made Roberts especially vulnerable to the sting of criticism were her decisions to play roles in only a small number of movies. While this may have prevented the kind of overexposure that has ruined the careers of many stars, it also made her every new release a major event. And unfortunately for her, all of these films, or her performances in them, would inevitably be compared to "Pretty Woman."

For some reason, the only press Roberts received for any of her subsequent movies was negative. No one seemed to pay much attention to her part in Robert Altman's "The Player," a superb picture that boasted an ensemble cast. Instead, the press was too busy bashing "The Pelican Brief," an underrated film that simply could not escape the immense shadow of the novel it was based upon.

In the movie, Roberts plays a law student who gets caught in a giant conspiracy involving the assassination of a Supreme Court justice. In many ways similar to "Sleeping with the Enemy," her role did not necessarily require an enormous range to be successful. Yet, although her performance was quite convincing, the media felt that this was another Roberts failure.

If "The Pelican Brief" was slightly disappointing, "I Love Trouble" was an absolute catastrophe. The movie starred her and Nick Nolte as two rival journalists working on the same story. The main attraction was meant to be the witty banter between them (a la Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn), but chemistry between the two was lacking; as a result, the film was not received well by its audiences.

Sadly enough, Roberts' difficulties continued with Robert Altman's disaster, "Ready-to-Wear." The much-anticipated film made "I Love Trouble" look successful. Even the film press, who adore Altman, could not help but trash the film. Undeservingly, Roberts received a lot of negative attention for the movie, despite the fact that she barely spent any time on screen.

For us to truly understand the terrible situation confronting Roberts, we must look back at last summer's "Something to Talk About." In her most low-key role in a long time, the actress stars as the wife of an unfaithful husband, played by Dennis Quaid. The film did relatively well at the box office and received good reviews. Roberts, however, seemed to be lost in the shuffle -- which was a shame, considering it was her most persuasive performance in years.

A recent appearance on America's favorite TV show "Friends" may not be enough to divert attention from her latest project, the extremely troubled production "Mary Reilly." The film examines the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story from the perspective of his chambermaid. It has already been classified as a bomb, which is unfair to everyone involved with it.