I was prepared for “Mona Lisa Smile” to be one of those ultimate ‘chick flicks’ that I’m always warned about by my friends, but surprisingly it wasn’t. As opposed to being all full of mushy romance and the like, it was more of a political statement about the state of women’s affairs in the 1950s. Since it’s release it has been most alluded to as being a kind of ‘Dead Poet’s Society“ for women. The only real connection I saw was that it was about a teacher trying to open up students to new ideas, but her approach was decidedly different. Julia Roberts stars a Katherine Watson, a teacher who moves from the free-thinking state of California and takes a position at the Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She soon finds her way of thinking to be constantly challenged as she feels that women need to take every opportunity to better their lives, as opposed to grooming themselves to be perfect wives and mothers. Her life becomes intertwined with her students, whom she tries vehemently to turn to her way of thinking.

“Mona Lisa Smile” is actually great period piece that does a good job representing a woman’s place back in the day. The fact that they were allowed to go to College and get and education was really no more than a way to prepare them for marriage. The very idea of a woman having a career was still looked down upon.

Overall I liked “Mona Lisa Smile”, though it was more for the performances by the various actresses and the look of the film, not so much for the ideas it presented. Though I agree that a woman should have every opportunity that man has to have a career and a life beyond marriage, here it is sold by a very heavy-handed approach. There were, and still are, women who want nothing more than to be housewives and raise a family. In the movie, Watson treats them like lepers. It’s as if the very idea that they think differently from her is disgusting. Unfortunately there are still those involved in women’s groups today that belittle those who embrace this type of family life. They say it’s demeaning. They say it’s wrong. I say its freedom of choice. (But such is the way of any activist group; it’s usually their way or no way.)

The new DVD release of “Mona Lisa Smile” offers up a few short extra features, all of which are kind of a mix of explaining the way of thinking of the time as opposed to now, with all of the main actresses given the opportunity to speak up. The best of these features is the last, “What Women Wanted: 1953” which includes a bit of archival footage to go along with the lesson. The only other feature to speak of is an Elton John music video for “The Heart of Every Girl”, which turns into a sort of commercial for the soundtrack.

In spite of the somewhat one-sided way of thinking that pervades “Mona Lisa Smile”, it is still quite an enjoyable film to watch with strong performances by all involved.

Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Juliet Stevenson, Dominic West
Extras: Art Forum, College Then and Now, What Women Wanted, Music Video - Elton John “The Heart of Every Girl”
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16X9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 3/9/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content and Thematic Issues)
Website

We'll give Mona Lisa Smile a B-.