My Best Friend’s Wedding

(P. J. Hogan, US 1997, 105 min., 35mm)

Julia Roberts. The “best friend” of the title is sports reporter Michael O’Neal (Dermot Mulroney), who had an agreement with New York food critic Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) that they would marry each other at the age of 28 if they hadn’t found anyone else. When Michael reveals that he is marrying Kimmy (an effervescent Cameron Diaz) and Julianne discovers that her feelings for Michael are genuine, she decides to travel to Chicago and break up the wedding. Broader and more physical than in any of her other comedies, Roberts delights in playing the “other woman” with gusto and her own easy charm.