Mona Lisa Smile

PG-13

Released Dec 19, 2003

1 hr. 57 min.

Drama

List

34%

151 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students including Betty (Kirsten Dunst) and Joan (Julia Stiles) to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

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Critics Consensus

Though Mona Lisa Smile espouses the value of breaking barriers, the movie itself is predictable and safe.

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Kevin B

Acting was okish. Story was awful and way out of date. Could have been good but the message is so very mixed and watered down.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/02/24

Full Review

Steve J

Contrary to rotten tomatoes, I thought that this movie was very good. I enjoyed and I recommend it to you

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

William R

It was probably a little bit too old-fashioned for a modern audience but me and my wife really enjoyed this movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

Full Review

John A

The critic consensus for this one is a real mind blunder for me. The premise and subject matter is handled fairly thoughtfully here. Great casting also.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

Fiona S

Viewed from the social lighthouse of 2023, this movie stands as a thoughtful essay to the 1950s. It shines a clear light on the mores and stifling pretences of an era perched on top of the disruptive WW2. Critics knocked it for the cliche script and predicability, but ironically, that exactly how society expected you to live. Cancelled today has nothing on the banishment if you used the wrong fork. This brutal mirror is horrific to watch as it reflects the broken lives and careers of its tragic characters. Everything looks pastel and dreamy, while the clever script digs in deep. Just great!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

Full Review

Grace H

Everything is predictable. Everything is a means to an end. The paint does not become illusion.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/23/23

Full Review

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Mike Newell

Director

Julia Roberts

Katherine Watson

Kirsten Dunst

Betty Warren

Julia Stiles

Joan Brandwyn

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Giselle Levy

Juliet Stevenson

Amanda Armstrong

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The cartoon notions of the '50s and snooty Easterners say more about Hollywood cluelessness than about the period the film condescends to...lacking the courage of its own vulgarity, Mona Lisa Smile is as tepid as old bathwater.

Mar 12, 2018

Full Review

Antonia Quirke

London Evening Standard

Just what we need: a pyjama party posing as a movie.

Dec 20, 2017

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Glossy entertainment value but far from art.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 26, 2010

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal furnish well-observed performances that frequently outshine Julia Roberts's reflex characterization in this female variant of "Dead Poets Society."

Rated: B-

May 12, 2009

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 2/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Garth Franklin

Dark Horizons

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 2, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students including Betty (Kirsten Dunst) and Joan (Julia Stiles) to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Director: Mike Newell
Executive Producer: Joe Roth
Screenwriter: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Revolution Studios, Red Om Films, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Issues|Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 19, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 25, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $63.7M
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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