Julia Roberts plays Katherine, a naïve graduate student who thinks she can change the world by teaching affluent young girls about canonical Western art, such as (shockingly) Mona Lisa. The logline is that her “progressive” ideals clash with the obstinate Wellesley College ways, which has inherited a certain rigid decorum to pass on to their girls. Katherine frankly does not believe women....

  Disclaimer: this movie is as Hollywood manufactured as they come. What do I mean? I do not, fortunately, suggest that it is over-indulgent in melodrama, begging to be nominated for best motion picture. But it is incredibly formulaic.   Even after viewing it for the first time, I am quite surprised the screenplay and film was nominated for academy awards. It is quite a....

This is a film with incredibly Sharon wit, yet an unpronounceable, prematurely delivered script. The plot is difficult to appreciate, as it is inconsistently whimsy, plodding into the enigmatic of its characters without developing themselves any further than bystanders for comedy.   And it is exceptional comedy from Kevin Kline, n a resoundingly hilarious character, who steals the....