By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Ring out the bells, light up the candles, and lay down the red carpet. Our favourite 'pretty woman' is back together with her wide beguiling smile. Both are intact, as they were 20 years ago when she first locked our hearts to Julia Roberts as the enchanting Vivian opposite Richard Gere in Pretty Woman (1990). Although Roberts had previously appeared in two earlier films, Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), it was her leading role in Pretty Woman that brought her international acclaim. Nothing could compare to that breathtaking luminosity and radiance of her smile. Big, bright, and broad, her smile seemed to retain its own special magic that electrified the screen, revealing a perfect set of glistening white, flashing like a moonbeam in the midnight sky. Julia Roberts proved there was more to her than a smile. Did we not all tip our hats to her talent so masterfully displayed in Erin Brockovich? Ten years after Pretty Woman Julia Roberts won her best actress Award for her perfect personification of the very feisty Ms. Brockovich who is still alive and still feisty. Nothing earth- shattering has happened career-wise since then, other than a few ensemble appearances and cameo roles. Instead Ms Roberts concentrated on hearth and home. She married cameraman Daniel Moder and had three children, a pair of twins, Hazel and Phinneas, now six and little Henry now three. Ready to spread her wings, she waited for as great a role to come her way; then she read author Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, which had enjoyed 150 weeks on the New York Times best seller list. Roberts decided she would be Elizabeth Gilbert and proceeded to Eat Pray Love. Unhappily married and depressed, Gilbert sets on her spiritual journey in search of her inner balance and true identity. Gilbert/Roberts first stop in the eternal city -- Rome, where she does a good deal of eating; then she does a good deal of praying in India and onto her last destination Bali, where she finally finds love. Author Elizabeth Gilbert published her first novel Stern Men in 2000, which was a New York Times 'Notable Book,' about territorial wars between two remote fishing islands off the coast of Maine. Her second book, The Last American Man (2002) was based on a true story of the modern day woodsman Eustace Conway. The book was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic Circle Award. Her 2006 memoir chronicling her journey around the world following a painful divorce, Eat Pray Love became a phenomenal international best seller. It was translated into over 30 languages and sold 7 million copies, one of which landed on Julia Roberts' lap. Eat Pray Love became so popular that Time Magazine named Elizabeth Gilbert as one of the 100 most influential people in the world (2008). The reviews overflowed with praise. Jennifer Eden of the New York Times Book Review wrote "if a more likeable writer than Gilbert is currently in print I haven't found him or her. Gilbert's prose is fuelled by a mix of intelligence, wit, and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible." Erika Schickel of the Los Angeles Times was no less gushing: "Gilbert's journey is full of mystical dreams, visions, and uncanny coincidences.... The unfettered account of the extraordinary journey makes even the most cynical reader dare to dream of some day finding God within a meditation cave in India, or perhaps over a transcendent slice of pizza." It was not easy to transpose the humour insight and charm of Gilbert's pilgrimage on the screen, but director Ryan Murphy tried hard. Sensitive and tasteful, Ryan Murphy made his directorial debut on TV Nip-Tuck, and Glee. He also worked on the screenplay of Gilbert's memoires. Some critics are unhappy with the handling of the meditation and internal dialogue, so engaging in the book, but tedious and lengthy on the screen. Murphy compensated with the extravagant vistas, so splendidly rendered by cinematographer Robert Richardson, to assist in translating the inner quest of a woman in deep distress. Rome was a breeze. The eating bit was in a pictorial sense almost perfect. There was plenty to eat besides pizza and spaghetti, smothered in a downfall of provolone. The praying part in India was a harder challenge. Hindu leaders were concerned over the production of the film and recommended the use of spiritual Hindu consultants to ensure the accurate reflection of life in an Ashram. Whether they did or did not, the Indian episode is the weakest in the film. Scrubbing floors is not exactly the road to spiritual enlightenment. Then it's off to Bali where Xavier Barden awaits, offering love, helping Liz love him as well as love herself. Most books are a disappointment to avid readers when adapted on the screen. First and foremost, this is a Julia Roberts' vehicle, and in this she excels. Driven to seek life, she needs to hang loose, kick back, enjoy herself, let things happen, let life in. She finds subtle ways to depict Gilbert's thoughts and feelings, and when she flashes that smile, she lights up the whole screen with her sweet warmth. Trekking along with Ms. Roberts, we are aware of our own limitations and confinements. Perhaps we too can kick our heels and reverse our destinies. Perhaps we too can rise above the darkness and find the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps we too can do as the Romans do, dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. Eat Pray Love the movie may not be the perfect transposition of the perfect book. Yet, once again, that pretty woman shows us how more she is than just a Pretty Woman. Take glamour and gloss aside, the girl has talent and at 42, she has lost none of the captivating elements that brought the world to her feet when she was only 22. We only hope it will not take her another decade to light up the screen once again, with her glowing presence and that ever dazzling smile. Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination -- Immanuel Kant (1724 -- 1804)
