Julia Roberts: A Tribute

Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza.

Julia Roberts appeared in her first two movies, Satisfaction and Mystic Pizza, in 1988. Since then she has become, hands down, the biggest and most bankable female movie star in the world. In fact, she is only the seventh woman ever to be ranked the biggest box-office star in the world, male or female. The others are Mary Pickford back at the dawn of movies, Shirley Temple during the great depression, Betty Grable during WWII, Doris Day in the fifties, Julie Andrews thanks to The Sound of Music and Barbra Streisand in the early seventies. It is interesting to note that all of these other women were also singers (except Mary Pickford who was a star before pictures talked). I think most people would agree, however, that Julia Roberts is the most talented actress of the bunch.

Actually if you stop and think about it, she is very nearly a perfect textbook example of what a great movie star should be. Lets start with the face. It is beautiful, it photographs well and, thanks mostly to her gorgeous mouth, it is entirely singular. Her ability to convey emotion and give dialogue just the right emphasis is extraordinary. Yet, like all great movie stars, her core persona always comes through. Her characters are inevitably, intelligent and sexy, demure yet scrappy, old-fashioned with post-modern sensibilities.

The 1990 release of Pretty Woman catapulted the young Miss Roberts into the world cinema's collective conscious. Her charisma and charm in this movie are undeniable. Still, such a stellar impression is not without consequence and for several years after Pretty Woman it seemed as if she might be just a passing fad. Of course it has been obvious for quite a while now that she will one-day rank among the greats. She is now an actress of immense presence, adding each year to an already impressive body of work.

On a more personal level, I enjoy her because she is my generation. We were born the same year and I find it interesting to look back at certain roles she has played and think about where my life was at the time. With any luck the two of us will continue this relationship well into old age. She is one of the few stars of our generation (Tom Cruise is another) that is reason enough to go to the movies; whether playing a tiny, jealous fairy, a beautiful hooker, an abused wife or a huge movie star (what a stretch), she never fails to captivate.

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

The American Film Institute recently listed the greatest movie stars (male and female) of all time. Not surprisingly, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis were at the top of the list. In my mind, Julia Roberts displays the best qualities of these two legendary actresses. Like Hepburn, she has a classic beauty combined with a very strong and independent sense of herself and the ability to play both drama and comedy. With Bette Davis she shares the more down to earth quality of playing ordinary women caught in extraordinary circumstances with absolute believability. Not since Davis' hey-day, in fact, has an actress so completely dominated every movie she appears in.

Since her last three movies all grossed over 100 million domestically, she must feel an inordinate amount of pressure with each new release. With both The Mexican and The Ocean's Eleven remake slated for next year it will be interesting to see if she can continue such unprecedented success. Or will she be forced to begin a new chapter in her story? Either way I am confident that this amazing star will continue to interest and entertain countless people around the world.