BLOGS
Sometime between her late-1980s debut and her late-'90s heyday, the winsome Julia Roberts earned the title "America's sweetheart." Heck, she even appeared in a 2001 movie called America's Sweethearts, although she ironically did not play one of the titular sweethearts. But is she really a sweetheart, or is she... a monster? In film after film, Roberts has played floozies, fakes and outright felons, and it seems to have done little to ruin her reputation. Now, in her new movie Duplicity, she's playing a corporate spy trying to steal someone else's research. We examined her rap sheet to see how she fell so far.
Destroyed a Porsche (Mystic Pizza, 1988)
As a teenage pizza-slinger in hardscrabble Mystic, Connecticut (represent!), Roberts' character started dating a preppie from the rich side of the tracks, but we can't charge her for that. But when she thought he was stepping out on her with another woman (actually his sister), she backed up a lobster delivery truck and dumped two whole barrels of them into the guy's Porsche convertible. No charges were filed.
Illegal Medical Experiments (Flatliners, 1990)
Do medical students have to take a Hippocratic Oath? "I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked," that sort of thing? Or can they go around assisting suicides and injecting their fellow students with potassium chloride? Because Roberts' character totally does that in Flatliners.
Prostitution (Pretty Woman, 1990)
Sorry to ruin your fairy tale, ladies, but Cinderella never walked the streets in those glass slippers, and Sleeping Beauty never had a rule about no kissing. She may be a hooker with a heart of gold, but Roberts' character is still a hooker.
Possession of a Controlled Substance (Hook, 1991)
As Tinkerbell in this tale of a grown-up Peter Pan, Roberts throws around enough "fairy dust" to get several underage children sky-high, plus Robin Williams. Do you know what it takes to get Robin Williams high? That must be some seriously powerful shit.
Aiding and Abetting a Felon (Mary Reilly, 1996)
If you were in love with your employer, Dr. Jekyll, and also strangely attracted to his new "assistant" Mr. Hyde, would you tell the police you hadn't seen Hyde when the police came around looking for him in connection with a murder? Of course you would, because you're Julia Roberts, criminal.
Assassination (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, 2002)
The woman traveled the globe with Sam Rockwell icing dudes for the government. Do I have to paint you a picture?
Attempted Robbery and Identity Theft (Ocean's 12, 2004)
While Roberts' character managed to keep her nose clean in the first Ocean's movie, and was in fact not aware that a crime was being committed, she got drawn into the con game in the second film, helping to steal the Coronation Egg from a Roman museum. In the process, she also impersonates a famous movie star, capitalizing on the woman's fame to gain access to the egg. The fact that the woman Roberts' character was impersonating was, in fact, Roberts herself, is wholly beside the point.
Julia Roberts: National treasure, or public enemy? Sound off below.
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