RECIPE STILL WORKS IN `BRIDE'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

Nine years after whipping up that questionable but popular confection ``Pretty Woman,'' Julia Roberts and Richard Gere reteam with director Garry Marshall for another romantic comedy souffle, ``Runaway Bride.'' This one, if you can believe it, is even sweeter than the hooker movie (and it's PG rated, no less). Yet for all its contrivance and cutesiness, ``Runaway Bride'' works its way into some genuinely compelling emotional territory that ``Pretty Woman'' didn't dare acknowledge.

That's not something one usually associates with Gere's or, especially, Roberts' movies, let alone Marshall's, the director who's developed plastic glibness into a way of cinematic life (``The Other Sister,'' ``Exit to Eden,'' ``Frankie and Johnny,'' on and on ...). But maybe, as with Roberts' other summer comedy, ``Notting Hill,'' the script's echoes of her own life experience helped bring out something truer than usual in her ``Bride'' performance. She's not just her usual charming self here; she's actually poignant in a way she's never been before, like she really means it this time.

That said, false notes are struck throughout ``Bride,'' among them an adorably raunchy granny and a small town so idealized (at first, anyway) that it appears to keep a barbershop quartet on permanent retainer. But when Roberts and Gere finally get their wounded characters to open up to each other, it's not just those fictional individuals who have a date set for redemption. You get into a forgiving mood for the whole movie.

He's Ike Graham, a misogynistic New York newspaper columnist (lots of USA Today product placements here) who, writer's-blocked and deadline looming, exaggerates a report about a small-town Maryland woman who's repeatedly dumped grooms at the altar. The lady with the cold but fast feet, Roberts' Maggie Carpenter, fires off a letter listing the piece's inaccuracies, which promptly gets Ike fired by his editor, and ex-wife, Ellie (Rita Wilson).

Ike's only chance to salvage his career is to write a better-reported magazine article on Maggie. So it's off to pretty little Hale, Md., where cynical city journalists are less than welcome - especially by Maggie, who's about to make wedding attempt No. 4 with local high school coach and all-around motivational guy Bob (Christopher Meloni).

Hate at first sight gives way to grudging respect as Ike ingratiates himself with all of Maggie's friends, relatives and ex-fiances. She despises his prying, but it gradually dawns on her that no man she's ever known has been quite so interested in learning what makes her tick. And since she gives as good as she gets - Maggie's together enough to run the family hardware store with the capability and knowledge of a master carpenter - she forces Ike to confront his own unexamined attitudes about relationships.

Stir in the already proven Gere-Roberts chemistry and watch the romantic fun bubble up. Only this time, it's laced with both convincingly conveyed neurosis and a rather lovely, humanistic appreciation of even the most caricatured participants, like gung ho Coach Bob and Maggie's weirdo best friend, played by Joan Cusack.

The big question the film poses is, of course, what makes Maggie run? Some might be satisfied by the answer ``Bride'' takes its sweet time getting to, but others definitely won't be. But it's hard to call that a flaw in the sometimes too silly, mostly well-designed script by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. After all, this is a story about nosy modern journalism's attempt to glibly oversimplify the workings of a woman's heart.

Sometimes, a little mystery can be a very good thing, not to mention the most honest thing. And lord knows, movies like ``Runaway Bride'' need all the honesty that they can shoehorn in.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Runaway Bride'' (PG; language).

The stars: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Joan Cusack, Christopher Meloni, Hector Elizondo, Rita Wilson, Paul Dooley.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Garry Marshall. Written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. Released by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 56 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three Stars