The Third Wish

I love a really good Cinderella type love story and so I thought I was going to be delighted with this one.  Instead it turned out to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

The Third Wish had the potential to be a really good movie, but it has so many holes in the script it that not even Betty White's endearing character could save it.  

The Third Wish stars Jenna Mattison as Maggie Malone, Sean Maguire as Brandon, Betty White as Lettie, James Avery as George and Armand Assante as the Benefactor.  The movie was directed by Shelley Jenson, writen by Jenna Mattison and released on April 22, 2005.

Jenna Mattison plays Maggie Malone

The first thing that is wrong with this movie is Jenna Mattison's hair.  First, let me say that Jenna has beautiful thick long and wavy hair.  To me, there is no question that Jenna's hair is simply gorgeous, healthy, all that and a bag of chips.  The problem is that all throughout the movie Jenna's hair is constantly in her face.  It is parted very low on one side so that it flows over the other side of her head and into her face.  Yes, it is a very pretty style, but it was annoying watching the actress constantly moving so that her hair would take center stage of the screen.  This is not a movie about hair.  In one scene when Maggie is shown her new apartment by Brandon the lawyer, Maggie takes her hair out of the ponytail and then deliberately finger combs her hair to that one side so that her hair would again take center stage.  I think that if you have gorgeous hair, go ahead and flaunt it, but when you are in a movie, no one wants to sit and watch your hair for an hour and a half.  There are many beautiful hair styles away from the face that would have still showcased Jenna's beautiful locks without being annoying.

Another thing that did not jive is that Maggie was constantly grinning, even when it made no sense.   For the first 10 to 15 minutes you see Maggie constantly smiling no matter what.  I actually think it is lovely that Maggie smiles a lot.  Maggie even smiled as she takes herself to work each day on her bicycle.  I can get with that because when I am happy I smile too, no matter what I am doing.  You get the immediate impression that Maggie is a very good natured person who does not get upset very easily, but instead can always find something in the world to appreciate.  The problem is when Brandon walks into the book store that Maggie works in for the first time and she is rude to him for no reason.  That did not jive with what the character was presenting to the audience before that point.  Not only was Maggie rude, but she was doing it while on the job.  Your customers are your meal ticket.

  

 

Betty White's character Lettie is a sweatheart who is also very wise.

Maggie Malone is a struggling and aspiring writer who works in a bookstore to make ends meet.  One day she finds a rare edition of Great Expectations in the bookstore and it seems to wield magic.  Maggie's first two wishes come true immediately.  This is a great and magical element to this movie that was not executed well. 

  

  Handsome Sean Maguire plays Brandon

A lawyer with a British accent walks into the store looking for Maggie to inform her that she has a benefactor who has certain gifts for her.  The benefactor however, wants to remain anonymous, and Brandon is sworn to keep the identity secret.  

The first thing that Brandon does is take Maggie to the bank and opens an account in her name, depositing 5 million dollars into it on behalf of her benefactor.   Maggie is not particularly thankful though, and that begins to turn me off from the character.  It is indeed better to remain grounded when these things happen, but Maggie could have shown some appreciation for the gifts bestowed upon her by her anonymous benefactor.  

Another gift that Maggie receives is a beautiful apartment overlooking the city.  The apartment is in a building that is very much like a hotel, so it has concierge services.  Maggie at first whines about how she cannot live there.  I sat there watching this and said to myself are you freaking kidding me?  It was a gorgeous apartment reflecting the tastes and colors that Maggie loves so much.   It was not as if it was an outlandishly styled apartment for the rich and famous.  It was a huge step up, but the benefactor made sure it was also a good fit for Maggie and that she could be comfortable in it.

Brandon and Maggie spend a lot of time together and end up falling in love.  I was not surprised by that.  As a matter of fact as soon as Brandon's character first makes his appearance in the movie I guessed as much.  Brandon is a very handsome and proper Englishman who is slightly uptight, but Maggie manages to thaw him out a bit. 

One day Brandon tells Maggie that her benefactor is having her book published.  This infuriates Maggie.  I can understand that Maggie wanted to earn publication of her writing on her own, but to me, her reaction was still way over the top.  The look that came over her face and the way she stormed out of the apartment you would think she had been cursed out and slapped instead of bestowed such wonderful gifts.  

Later on Brandon confesses his love for Maggie. Maggie sits there looking at him as if he has two heads.  The next thing I know she is demanding that Brandon tell her who the benefactor is.  Brandon explains again that he cannot tell her because his client made it a condition.  Maggie gets upset and tells Brandon that she cannot trust him.  WHAT?,,,,she cannot trust him?  Is Maggie kidding me?  This is a man who is a lawyer and chooses to respect his client confidentiality agreement.  If you can't trust a man like that who can you trust?   Brandon showed honor and integrity, but instead Maggie threw that to the wind and behaved as if keeping your word was some sort of failing.  I was through with Maggie after that.  I wanted Brandon to go and find another girl to fall in love with.  Someone who was not so darned selfish, cynical and ungrateful.  

I don't recommend this movie at all, but you know me.  If you want to know how it ends you will have to suffer through it yourself.  If it becomes too taxing to watch all the way through you can always fast forward to the end.

 

Armand Assante, the Benefactor.  Exactly who is he?

 Jenna Mattison and husband Richard Gunn

  
           

As Young As We Are - (1958)

As Young As We Are is another little known and lost movie that I found on Netflix.  The movie stars Pippa Scott as Kim Hutchins, Robert Harland as Hank Moore, and Majel Barrett as Joyce Goodwin.  As Young As We Are was directed by Bernard Girard and released some time in 1958.  This long forgotten movie is another winner.  The acting and storyline are very good.  If you like watching 1950's movies this is for you.  The sexual mores were different back then.  What was scandalous in mid century people rarely blink their eyes at today.

Kim Hutchins and Joyce Goodwin meet at a job fair where they are trying to get hired within the public school system as teachers.  Both women recently earned their teaching certificate.  Kim and Joyce are being rejected for jobs because of their very young age and lack of any experience at all.   Kim and Joyce manage to convince Paul Evans, the principal of Rosario High School to give them a chance.  Mr. Evans really does not want to hire the girls because Rosario High is located in a far off place that is quite desolate and where there is nothing for young adults to do.  He hasn't been able to keep teachers for that very reason.  The previous year seven young teachers walked out on their contract before the school year was over.  Mr. Evan's reluctantly hires Joyce and Kim with the stipulation that they must remain for the entire school year.

Joyce and Kim decide to drive the Rosario together.  On the way the headlights of Joyce's car goes out and they can't go any further.   Two older men driving by stops,  gets out of their car  and begins to harass Joyce and Kim.  It looks like the two men are going to rape them.  Lucky for the girls, a truck is approaching and they yell for help.  The truck driver stops and rescues Kim and Joyce from the two bad guys.  The Trucker driver's name in Hank Moore and he is immediately attracted to Kim, but Hank is a gentleman. 
          

Hank checks out the headlights for the girls and finds that it is a loose wire that caused the problemn.  After Hank fixes the problem Joyce and Kim are again on their way to Rosario.   What the ladies do not know is that waiting in the truck for Hank to return is his girlfriend Nina.

Joyce and Kim arrive at the boarding house where they will be renting rooms.  The owner is strict and not the warmest person.  Her name is Nettie McPherson and she is played by Ellen Corbett, whom you may remember as grandma Walton in the TV series The Waltons.  Kim and Joyce will not be allowed to entertain men in their bedrooms.  Remember, this is 1950's mores.  Actually, these mores stretched into the 1970's.  It was even still scandalous to get pregnant out of wedlock.  I remember well a classmates getting pregnant during my first year of junior high school.  It was the talk of the school and everyone was whispering about it.  The girl had to leave school.  It was really sad because the son of a family friend had raped her and that is how she became pregnant.  Back in those days people whispered about the girl but the boy was not chastised.

Joyce and Kim move forward with their lives and attend teachers orientation at Rosario High School.  The ladies are very excited about their first teaching job and the school year will begin in a couple of weeks.       

Hank Moore was able to track Kim down by looking up the license plate number of Joyce's car.  Hank is really smitten with Kim and while Kim is waiting for school to begin she starts going out with Hank.  There is a strong physical attraction between the couple.  Hank looks to be in his early to mid twenties, but Hank is actually only 17 years old and will begin his last year at Rosario High when school starts.  Hank doesn't tell Kim that he is a high school student because he knows that she would never have gone out with him.  As the couple continue to see one another Hank becomes more obsessed with Kim.

      

    

The first day of school arrives and Hank learns that he is in Kim's class.  When he walks into the classroom is when Kim learns that he is only 17 years old and a high school student.  You can imagine the shock that came over Kim.   To make matters even more tense, Nina is also in the class and is the class monitor.  Hank has been brushing Nina off because he only has eyes (and thoughts) for Kim.   

Later on Kim explains to Hank that she is not going to see him anymore.  The situation is impossible, but Hank refuses to give Kim up and begins to stalk her.  

Hank keeps showing up at the boarding house where Kim lives, but Nettie and Joyce will not give him access to Kim.  Kim is getting really stressed out over the situation because now the students in school are whispering about Kim and Hank.  

Kim purchases her own car to get back and forth to school.  In a desperate attempt to make Kim his, Hank kidnaps her in her own car.  After being missing for quite some time and Hank being no where to be found the police are brought into it.  A patrol car spots Kim's car with Kim in it and Hank driving.  A high speed chase begins and Hank tells Kim that if she does not agree to marry him he will kill them both.  Hank has a gun on him.  Kim will not agree and begs Hank to give himself up.  Hank's mental state is now off the charts and he crashes the car.

What happened after that?  You will have to watch the movie and see for yourself.  YOu have been reading my reviews long enough to know that I will not tell you the ending.  :-)

 Pippa Scott

 Majel Barrett

The clothes in this movie was designed by Edith Head.  To me Edith Head was the best clothes designer that Hollywood had until the day she passed away.  Miss Head's designs were very similar to Coco Chanel because of the classic and timeless look of them.  

 Edith Head

Young and Dangeous - (1957)

I found this little known and all but forgotten movie on Netflix.  I did not know what to think of this movie at first.  I almost skipped ot, but then I decided to give it a try.  I was not expecting  much from it, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed this movie a lot!

Young and Dangerous is a teenage coming of age movie.  It stars Lili Gentle as Rosemary Clinton and Mark Damon as Tommy Price.  The movie was directed by William Claxton and released in 1957.  I would say that the budget for this movie was quite low.  Never the less the director and all of the actors made this movie a winner.

Tommy Price is a 19 year old who has no direction in life despite coming from a good family.  He won't go to college or get a job.  Tommy spends his time with two other losers who only think about girls and bedding them down.  One evening at the drive in restaurant where all the youngsters hang out, Tommy's two bone head friends dare him to ask goody two shoes and straight laced Rosemary Clinton for a date.  Tommy believes that he can break down Rosemary and get her into bed.  Tommy accepts the challenge and asks Rosemary out.  Rosemary accepts, but is warned about Tommy by her best friend who is played by a very young, pretty and adorable Connie Stevens. 

Rosemary is 17 years old and already a high school graduate.  Rosemary continues to live with her parents while working full time during the day.  

After Rosemary returns home from the drive in, she tries to tell her mother about her date but she is too busy gossiping on the phone and brushes Rosemary off.  Both of Rosemary's parents are very self absorbed.  I was really turned off by both of them.  Rosemary's father was played by Dabbs Greer who you will remember was Reverend Alden on Little House on the Prairie for almost 10 years.  Rosemary's parents were always going out in the evening to spend time with other couples, leaving Rosemary at home to busy herself.  When Rosemary finally gets a date all of a sudden her parents have so much to say about her life.
 
Tommy is not exactly the most well mannered when he arrives at Rosemary's house to pick her up.  Instead of ringing the doorbell, Tommy blows the horn from his car and expects Rosemary to come running out.  Rosemary's father forbids her to go out to Tommy.  Mr. Clinton tells Rosemary that if Tommy does not ring the bell for her and meet them first she is not going out with him.  I agreed with that 100%.  No man should be blowing the horn for you to come out when he is taking you out on a date.  Additionally, if it is his first time taking you out and you live with your parents he should have the good manners to introduce himself to them.  I don't have any children, but if I did have a daughter and some guy blew the horn for her to come out like that I would be livid.  Tommy does finally get out of the car and rings the bell, but he barely says anything to Rosemary's father and practically brushed him off.  It was not a good impression at all.

After Tommy picks Rosemary up and they leave for their date, instead of taking her to a party, Tommy drives to a remote spot and begins making out with her.  Rosemary doesn't mind until Tommy starts to take things too far.  Rosemary resists, but Tommy begins to get forceful.  Rosemary stands her ground and keeps saying no to Tommy.  Tommy finally gets very upset and decides to call off the date and take her back home.  Rosemary really likes Tommy and doesn't want to go back home.  She just wants to spend some time with Tommy without him groping her and expecting it to end in sex.  Good for you Rosemary!

Tommy is not used to not getting his way with the girls, and besides he made a bet with his two loser friends.  Tommy tries again to get Rosemary to loosen up and go all the way with him, but again Rosemary resists and they get into a scuffle.  Rosemary's dress gets ripped during the scuffle and she gets out of the car and runs away.  Tommy goes after her and strangely enough tries to comfort her and reassure her.  Men can be so neanderthal.  Rosemary said NO.  As a matter of fact she said NO, multiple times but Tommy kept trying to force himself on her.  If somehow  though you manage to get away then you earn the respect of a man?  That is just really twisted and I remember being in that situation myself a few times in the past.  No means NO and when you say NO it does not mean YES, go ahead and force me into it.  

           
While Tommy is helping Rosemary calm down and get herself together, two cops find them and takes them into the police station.  Rosemary's parents and Tommy's parents are called and they arrive at the station.  Rosemary's father is livid and forbids Tommy to ever come near his daughter again.  Tommy's father defends his son, but in private he is very disappointed in Tommy.  Mr. Price talks to Tommy again about going to college or at least getting a job and stop hanging with losers. 

   
After the entire ordeal, Tommy still wants to see Rosemary.  He appreciates her and no girl before ever stood up to him the way she did.  Rosemary and Tommy continue to see each other, but they have to sneak around because Rosemary's father forbids her to see him.

  
Rosemary and Tommy's relationship is passionate, but a wholesome one.  Tommy falls completely in love with Rosemary and she inspires him to want to be a better person and do something meaningful with his life.  Rosemary is actually quite mature for a 17 year old girl.  She knows what she wants out of life and stays focused on it.  She respects herself and insists that Tommy respect her too.  Tommy proposes to Rosemary and wants to marry her right away.  Rosemary loves Tommy and agrees to marry him, but encourages him to go to college first.  She will continue to work and save up money for both of them to have a good solid nest egg when they get married.  If only all 17 year olds were this level headed. 

Tommy tells his father about his plans to marry Rosemary and go to college first.  Mr. Price is elated and proud of his son.  However, now Rosemary has to tell her parents that she has been seeing Tommy secretly and they plan to marry.  The first time that Rosemary tries to tell her father, he would not even listen and keeps cutting her off.  I wanted to slap Mr. Price silly.  He will not shut up and listen for even a moment.  He just wants to dictate to Rosemary. 

Later that evening Rosemary's parents return home to find her in the house with Tommy.  Tommy got into a fight with some of his losers friends and Rosemary was tending to his wounds.  Mr. Clinton has a fit and won't listen to Rosemary when she tries to explain.

 

The situation gets really intense  and Rosemary runs out of the house upset and crying.
Tommy remains in the house to defend Rosemary, but Mr. Clinton still just wants to yell and shout.  Mrs. Clinton has to come between them.  Tommy loves Rosemary very much and he is determined to explain to both of Rosemary's parents what a wonderful daughter they have.  Just the right words beautifully come out of Tommy's mouth and Rosemary's father finally listens.  After telling Mr. and Mrs Clinton about how special Rosemary is, he pleads with them not to take her away from him.  I was so proud of Tommy and it was a teary moment for me....boo hoo, sniff sniff.  

The movies ends shortly after this intense scene and it was definitely a Hallmark moment.  You will have to watch it for yourself to find out. 

I really loved this movie.  If you are a true romantic you will get a kick out of it.  It is so sweet watching 1950's love stories.  Today's audience would probably not appreciate this and consider it unrealistic, but there are still romances that evolve without the two people getting naked first.  These types of love may be few and far between these days, but it still does exist.  I love movies based on Jane Austens books much more than the ones that take place in present day and the people end up in bed 48 hours after meeting.  I love romance based on a soul to soul connection instead of a purely sexual one.  If you feel the same way you will enjoy this movie a lot.  If you don't feel that way than this movie may be too corny for you. 

 Lili Gentle

Mark Damon

  

Noel Coward’s The Astonished Heart

The Astonished Heart was made in 1949 and released to movie houses in March 1950.  I find it very interesting that this movie was a commercial failure because I consider it one of the best classic films I have ever seen.  The Astonished Heart really is a good movie and I recommend it.  This movie is based on a ten cycle play titled Tonight At 8:30, written by Noel Coward.  The 1945 movie Brief Encounter was also adapted from the play Tonight At 8:30.  Brief Encounter, however was a success at the box office, so go figure.

The Astonished Heart stars Noel Coward in one of his rare appearances on screen.  Noel Coward plays the part of Dr. Christian Faber.  The movie also stars Celia Johnson as Barbara Faber, Margaret Leighton as Leanora Vail, Joyce Carey as Susan Birch, and Graham Payne as Tim Verney.  The movie was directed by Terence Fisher.




The Astonished Heart begins near the end of the story and is told in flashbacks.  When the movie starts Barbara is making a phone call to someone named Leanora telling her to come right away because something has happened  to Chris and he is asking for her.  You have no idea who Chris is or why Leanora is upset.  From there the story unfolds has Barbara sits by the window looking out into the rainy night.  




One rainy day while out shopping, Barbara Faber runs into her friend Leanora from her school days.  The two women have not seen each other since graduation seventeen years earlier, but they pick up where their friendship left off as if the many years had not passed.  Barbara invites Leanora to her home where she is introduced to Barbara’s husband Dr. Christian Faber.  Dr, Faber is a noted psychiatrist.  Upon meeting Barbara’s husband Leanora takes an immediate dislike to Christian because he barely acknowledged her before leaving the room.  Leanora is a very beautiful woman who is used to men reacting positively to her.  When Christian barely noticed her Leanora was inwardly bothered by it and it didn’t matter that Christian is Barbara’s husband.  What mattered to Leanora was that Christian is a man and he should have been taken in by her just as any man would.  Leanora decides to get back at Christian by making him fall in love with her. 
 
      
Christian and Barbara have been married for twelve years and he loves his wife.  The couple live an ordinary life but it is a happy one.  Barbara leaves for an extended visit to take care of her and dos not return for some time.  As a result Barbara cannot attend a play she was scheduled to see with Leanora, so Barbara calls Christian and asks him to give the tickets to their friend Tim so they he can take Leanora to see the play.  Tim has already left to go elsewhere though.  Christian cannot find anyone else to take Leanora to the play so he feels obliged to take his wife’s place.  BIG MISTAKE!

   
Christain has such a great time out with Leanora that he takes her out again.  Leanora has completely charmed Christian and she is doing it on purpose to get back at him for brushing her off when they initially met.  At first Christian is having fun with it, but then he ends up falling very deeply in love with Leanora.  Christian cannot stay away from her and looks forward to spending his evenings with her.



Christian is keeps falling more deeply in love with Leanora and cannot be without her.  Every time Christian is with Leanora she is looking even more lovely, casting her spell over him.  I started to wonder when the heck Barbara was coming home.  I understand that Barbara  went off to take care of her mother, but it wasn’t as if it were a life or death illness.  Barbara should have returned home a lot sooner 



Noel Coward was openly gay in real life, but I think he played the part of a man obsessed with a woman very well.  The kissing scenes in this movie are not what we are used to seeing today, but still done very well for that time period.  I read one review where the person did not think Noel Coward was right for this role, but I totally disagree.  I loved Noel Coward as Christian Faber.  If this movie is ever remade I would LOVE to see Richard Armitage cast as Christian and Romola Garai as Leanora.   



Barbara FINALLY returns home.  When she arrives Christian is not at home which is very unusual.  Barbara checks Christian's appointment diary to see if it can tell her where he is, and this is Barbara’s first clue that something is terribly wrong.  

Christian comes home very late one night after spending the evening with Leanora.  Barbara confronts Christian and he does not deny anything.  What is really strange about Barbara though is that she is acting really calm and collected.  Barbara even tells Christian to go away for a while and take Leanora with him and get it out of his system.  I could not believe it.  Barbara was distressed, of course, but she did not yell, scream or even cry, which is very bizarre.  Christian is very apologetic about what happened, but the fact is he is madly in love with Leanora and he can't help how he feels now.   Christian takes up his wife’s offer to go away with Leanora to see if their relationship would eventually fizzle out.  Barbara also decided to go away for awhile.  I thought to myself, didn’t Barbara already go away and that is how Christian got into this mess?  Barbara’s entire behavior is so weird.  My LEO pride would never allow me to throw a tantrum either if, God forbid, I found out that my husband was in love with another woman.  However,  there is no way I would suggest that he go away with the other woman to get it out of his system. 

 
Christian and Leanora go away together and seem to be having a wonderful time.  Eventually though, Leanora starts seeing another man.  Christian senses something is wrong in their relationship and catches Leanora telling lies.  Leanora admits that she is seeing a male friend of hers.
 
Christian is eaten up with jealousy now.  Leanora has become his entire world and he cannot live without her.  One night Christian and Leanora have it out one final time.  The scene is really pathetic and sad.  You can clearly see that Christian is emotionally falling apart and about to have a nervous breakdown.  Christian desperately wants Leanora to love him but she doesn’t and admits it to Christian.  Christian has to face the fact that his life is now ruined.  He cannot go back to Barbara because his love for Leanora is branded in his heart.  In a complete mental daze, Christian goes out into the night wondering around aimlessly for hours.  What happens next takes you back to where the movie started and you find out what happened to Christian.  You will have to watch the movie yourself if you want to know.  The Astonished Heart is a very tragic film that shows how fragile human emotions can be. 
 

   
Dr. Christian Faber was a very self assured and strong man before Leanora appeared in his life.  It is not nice to play with a person's feelings.  I've known people (men & women) who found themselves in situations like this.  Do not play around with people's emotions and psyche like this because the effects can be tragic as it is in this movie.
   

 Margaret Leighton

Margaret Leighton looks a lot like Ruth Warrick in this movie and I had to look at the credits again to see who was playing Leanora Vail.

 Noel Coward

 
Noel Coward came up with the name for this movie from the following Bible verse. 

“The Lord shall smite thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart.”
—Deuteronomy 28:28.

Mona Lisa Smile

 

I streamed Mona Lisa Smile yesterday on Netflix.  The movie stars Julia Roberts as Katherine Ann Watson, Kirsten Dunst as Elizabeth "Betty" Warren, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy, Ginnifer Goodwin as Connie Baker and Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn.  Mona Lisa Smile was released on December 19, 2003 and directed by Mike Newell.  

I am not sure why a movie like this was made in the 21st century when we have had female CEO's, Secretary of State and in other very high positions for years.  This subject is beyond played out and worn out now.

I had mixed feelings about the character that Julia Roberts played.  I  did like Katherine because she insisted on embracing life.  Katherine was smart and she was not playing that down just because in 1953 women were not expected to have careers outside of the home.  Katherine said that she believes women could have a career, a husband and children.  Basically we don't have to give up anything; we can have it all.  I agree with Katherine, but at the same time she seemed to hold something against women who really wants to be a wife and mother and has no interest in having a career as well.  To me the point is that we should have the choice of having it all, or choosing one over the other.  If a woman wants to be a full time wife and mother then that is also a wonderful and respectable choice.  Being a wife and mom is not something any woman should ever feel "small" about.    

    Julia Roberts as Katherine Ann Watson

Katherine Ann Watson is a graduate student from California who accepts a position teaching the history of art at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.  Wellesley College is a very conservative and private liberal arts college for women.  In leaving California, Katherine also left her boyfriend behind.  Well, that is fine if you are not in love and cannot see yourself spending the rest of your life with him.  I believe in spreading your wings; especially if there isn't anything to hold you back.  Go for it!

On the first day of class Katherine learns that the students memorized the entire class syllabus.  The students are not welcoming to her at all and are quite rude. The next day Katherine changes the syllabus and begins teaching the students about the French Impressionists and art interpretations. 

   

 Kirsten Dunst as Betty Warren

Betty Warren, like the rest of her family, is very conservative in her views.  College for Betty is more like a holding cell until you marry into a good family.  A woman's main and only role according to Betty is to be a good wife and mother.  Betty strongly resents Katherine for beginning to teach the students to expand their mind and reach for careers.  Betty is also a snob and a trouble maker.  She is the editor of the school newsletter and writes some scathing articles that gets a nurse fired and Katherine in trouble with the college.

 

During the semester Betty marries into a "good family".  The marriage was arranged by both families.  After the wedding Betty doesn't show up for many of the classes because she is busy being a "good wife".  The college allows married students a number a days that they can miss classes, but Katherine tells Betty that she will grade her completely on merit so she had better start coming to class regularly again. 

 

Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn

Joan Brandwyn has dreams of becoming an attorney and is enrolled as a  pre-law student.  Katherine encourages Joan to apply to Yale Law School.  Joan is also engaged to be married.  Shortly after Joan is accepted into Yale, she elopes and puts away dreams of becoming a lawyer.  Joan is very happy with her choice because she wants most to be a wife and mother.  Katherine has a hard time accepting that and encourages Joan to apply to a law school locally.  Deep down Joan doesn't want to do that though.  She really looks forward to being a full time wife and mother without having a career and Joan finally has to set Katherine straight about it.

 Ginnifer Goodwin as Connie Baker

My favorite character in Mona Lisa Smile is Connie Baker.  I guess it is because Connie is the "underdog" in this movie.  Connie is looked down upon by Betty who enjoys making self esteem busting remarks to her.  
  

Connie starts dating a young man named Charlie who happens to be one of Betty's cousins.  Charlie and Connie really care for one another and have a great time bonding.  However, one day Betty tells Connie that Charlie is only using her and is engaged to marry someone else more suited to him.  Connie unfortunately believes it and breaks things off with Charlie.
  

As time passes by Connie runs into Charlie and finds out that Betty lied to her.  Charlie had long ago broken off his engagement to a woman named Deb and truly cared Connie.  Connie gets the chance to confront Betty.  It is obvious that Betty just didn't want Connie to be happy.  That is usually the case when one is miserable.  Misery loves company as the saying goes.  Betty is one of the most miserable and pathetic characters I have ever seen. 

 Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy

Giselle Levy is a student who is Jewish in a sea of waspy young women.  Giselle is very liberal in her views and very supportive of Katherine.  Giselle has affairs with one of the teachers at the college and with a married man. 

Betty is always taunting Giselle and one evening everything comes to a head.  It is Betty who ends up having a mini breakdown.  Betty's life is unraveling. Her husband is never home and is cheating on her already.  Betty cannot go to her mother for any compassion because her mother's own strictly conservative views keeps Betty at arms length..  

As all of the plots in this movie come to a conclusion the movie ends with the students graduation.  Betty has come to appreciate Katherine and is even thankful to her.  Betty has filed for divorce and is moving away to New York to pursue a career.  Katherine has decided not to accept a second term teaching at Wellesley College.  Instead Katherine is heading for Europe to embrace life.  I liked how the movie ended because it does so on a positive and promising note for Katherine and the students.  The characters close one chapter of their lives and a new beginning is before them.