An article in this morning’s New York Times reviewed a new study on smiles, with emphasis on telling the difference between a real smile (when someone is happy, friendly, loving) and a fake smile (when someone is trying to sell you something).
That got me thinking about Julia Roberts smiling in the movie “Pretty Woman.” Now I like Julia Roberts movies well enough, although I’m not sure she’s really all that good an actor. Her smiling ability is the telling factor.
In the scene where she is apprehensive about being at the polo match, Edward tells Vivian to smile, and she does. And when she does, it is not a fake smile. It is not one of those smiles that doesn’t reach her eyes. It’s a real, happy, having-a-good-time smile, a beautiful smile that lights up her face. I’ve seen that movie 90 times (because somebody in my household loves it a lot), and I notice that happy, genuine smile every time.
You might think it takes a good actor to produce a genuine smile. But actually, in those circumstances, I think Vivian would have smiled a fake smile. If Julia were really good, that smile would not have reached her eyes.
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