"Yes, she's one of those hyped-up "beauties," an attractive woman who has been pumped up by the press as being (wrongly) one of cinema's greatest, legendary beauties on par with a Liz Taylor or Ava Gardner. She was convincingly attractive in "Pretty Woman," but if you ask me she's gone downhill from there. I never did find her horse-faced, sharp-nosed, rubber-mouth type of beauty appealing, but to each his own, I guess. I must admit that she had one of the most gorgeous manes of hair, tho'.
As for her leftist politics, did that play a part in her split from Lovett?"
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I've never had a problem with her looks. I've always preferred unconventional beauties. Like everyone else, I first really noticed her in "Mystic Pizza." I always hated "Pretty Woman," any movie that sanitizes a hooker into a cinderella is just too over the top. As busy an actress as she has been means there are more duds in her resume than you can shake a stick at, but I always thought she held up her end. I'd say the nastiest character she ever played was in either "Erin Brokovich" or "My Best Friends Wedding."
Alas, what can you say about her politics? other than they are de rigeur for Hollywood. One can pretty much say the same about her screwed up love life. I'm pretty sure she's not a beyotch however. As an example, I recall the PBS documentary series "Nature" that features a different celebrity narrator in every episode. "Wild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts" (2000) was a revelation in that (bear with me now) upon being deposited in the frigid steppe with a herding family she seemed to be at her ease and the dirtier she got, the happier and more relaxed she seemed to become (looked good in that native getup too, after her Patagonia outerwear fell apart). I think she is a genuinely nice person but I do wish she'd stretch her acting muscles more often.
She was terrific in "Sleeping with the Enemy."