Mona Lisa Smile

Released: 2003
Drama
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Ginnifer Goodwin
Running Time: 117 minutes
Rated: PG 13

The breakdown: A forward thinking art teacher encourages young 1950's female students to challenge the typical role of housewife/female stereotypes.

This wasn't the best movie I've ever seen and neither is it the worst.  Let's get to the plot, shall we?
Roberts plays a fresh college graduate who is going to teach at Wellesley College.  She's ultra modern which is a huge problem for the school already.  She's in her 30's, she's single, and she's career-driven.  The school prides themselves (it seems) on churning out well educated housewives who never go on to a career after they've snared a husband (preferable before graduating.)  Roberts teaches art history to a room of girls who have already read the entire book assigned to the class before the first day of school (really? who does this?)  Anyway, the group of girls are all pretty unlikable for the most part.  One's mother is on the school board, so she's a bitch who writes for the school paper and gets people fired.  One girl is a smoking, drinking, slut who sleeps with teachers and married men, one is meek and never stands up for what she wants, blah, blah, blah.  You never really get into the movie because every time you're close there's some dramatic scene that supposed to feel dramatic, but ends up feeling weak and silly.
Roberts ends up liking all her students (even the bitchy one) and of course, they all love her at the end of the year.  At that point her teaching and personality have all convinced the kids you can be a housewife and a lawyer if you want to.  But, the school really doesn't like the fact that she is too modern for their tastes and only invites her back the next year, conditionally.  Roberts doesn't want to comprise herself, so she quits.  The end.
A quick synopsis of a movie that never needed to be made.
I give it a 2 out of 5 for Gyllenhaal and Goodwin's performances that were the best of the bunch.