Julia Roberts,
Kirsten Dunst,
Julia Stiles,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Juliet Stevenson
... see more 
Set in 1953, Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a new young art history professor at Wellesley College, an all-female campus with a prestigious reputation for academi... read more
Directed by: Mike Newell
Release Date: December 19, 2003
DVD Release Date: March 9, 2004
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Stats: 5,717 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (5,717)
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October 31, 2010Mona Lisa Smile,which is set in 1953/54, tells the story of Katherine Ann Watson (played by Julia Roberts), a teacher who studied at UCLA graduate school who leaves her boyfriend behind in Los Angeles to teach at Wellesley College, a conservative women's private liberal arts coll... read more
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July 11, 2010Julia Roberts plays a teacher in the mid-1950's when colleges like Wellesley seem to exist just to prepare young women to be housewives, not independent people. Similar to 'To Sir with Love', the teacher has to not only teach, but inspire her students to strive to do the best th... read more
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March 12, 2010Mona Lisa Smile tries to be something unique and relies on it's all-star female audience far too much. Although I did enjoy it, there seems to be no real qualities to the plot. The cast really keeps your interest in this film and the social context, in which it's set, leaves you ... read more
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August 16, 2008Funny and sweet. One of the reasons I like this "inspirational teacher" story is that Katherine gets called out on her own liberal prejudices towards the institution of home, and realizes one's own choices take precedence over pseudo-subversive chic.
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October 13, 2007Better than I would have thought. I guess that's what wives are good for.
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Critic Reviews
January 10, 2004
Elizabeth M. Tamny, Chicago Reader
December 23, 2003
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Women of the Fifties, rise up in protest.
December 20, 2003
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
In terms of the gap between the movie it's trying to be and the movie it actually is, Mona Lisa Smile is in many ways indefensible. Yet for all its problems, it's satisfyingly movielike. Full Review
December 19, 2003
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
Anyone who's ever been moved by a teacher to dream a slightly bigger dream than his parents thought he or she was capable of achieving ought to love the film, for it gets at a truer model of teacher's...
December 19, 2003
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Like the turtleneck cashmere sweaters and girdles that tie down these promising women, the movie is trite and trussed.
December 19, 2003
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Rather than being a fascinating exploration of a much more constrained time in our social history, the film simply feels anachronistic. Full Review
December 19, 2003
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
[Roberts] is an anachronistic pop-feminist on a mission. Full Review
December 19, 2003
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
It's hard to believe Katherine could become a beloved teacher or inspire her students, and in the case of Mona Lisa Smile that's the same as saying it's hard to believe the movie. Full Review
December 19, 2003
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
May not be the personably 'serious' movie it sees itself as -- and it may miss its mark by aiming too intently at its target -- but it still manages to work on other, more simplistic levels that are n... Full Review
December 19, 2003
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
When was the last time you saw a mainstream movie with big, flashy stars that featured a fairly sophisticated discussion of the nature of art? Full Review
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Mona Lisa Smile
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