Franklin Dean
In the 1997 romantic comedy film *My Best Friend's Wedding*, Julia Roberts plays Julianne Potter, a food critic who realises she is in love with her best friend Michael after he tells her he is engaged. In the same year, the television sitcom *Will & Grace* was released, with its final episode airing in 2020. The show revolves around the friendship between Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight interior designer. In the show, Julie is Grace and Leo's neighbour and works as a masseuse.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| George's role | Julianne's gay friend and editor |
| George's actor | Rupert Everett |
| George's personality | witty, attractive, supportive, and morally conscious |
| George's relationship with Julianne | Julianne's primary relationship and confidant |
| George's relationship with Michael | Michael's pursuer |
| George's key scenes | Serenading Julianne in a packed restaurant; dancing with Julianne at the wedding reception |
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What You'll Learn
George and Julianne's friendship
In the 1997 romantic comedy-drama *My Best Friend's Wedding*, Julianne Jules Potter (Julia Roberts) is a 27-year-old food critic who realises she is in love with her best friend, Michael O'Neal (Dermot Mulroney), a sportswriter. With only days before Michael is set to marry his fiancée, the college student Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz), Julianne embarks on a series of schemes to break up the couple and win Michael for herself.
Throughout the film, Julianne enlists the help of her friend George Downes (Rupert Everett), a witty, attractive, and supportive gay man. George acts as Julianne's conscience and confidant, often calling her out on her devious plans and providing moral guidance. In one scene, George pretends to be engaged to Julianne to make Michael jealous, but the plan backfires when George embarrasses Julianne at lunch with the wedding party. Despite this, George remains a loyal friend, flying to Chicago to support Julianne and even attending Michael and Kimmy's wedding to ensure she's okay.
The film ends with Julianne dancing with George at the wedding reception, symbolising her appreciation for their platonic love and the supportive friendship she has in her life. This ending was well-received by audiences, who felt it redeemed Julianne's character after her questionable actions throughout the film.
Overall, the friendship between George and Julianne is a key aspect of *My Best Friend's Wedding*, adding depth and complexity to the story and providing a satisfying resolution to the film.
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George's role as Julianne's conscience
In the 1997 romantic comedy-drama *My Best Friend's Wedding*, Rupert Everett plays George Downes, the gay confidant and editor of Julianne Jules Potter (Julia Roberts). George acts as Julianne's conscience throughout the movie, calling her out whenever she is being particularly devious in her schemes to break up her best friend Michael O'Neal's (Dermot Mulroney) wedding to his fiancée, Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz).
After realising she is in love with Michael, Julianne enlists George's help in trying to win him back. On George's advice, Julianne pretends to be engaged to him to make Michael jealous. George goes along with the ruse, but later embarrasses Julianne at lunch with the wedding party by singing "I Say a Little Prayer" as the whole restaurant joins in. Despite this, George remains a supportive friend to Julianne throughout the film, even flying to Chicago to be by her side.
George encourages Julianne to be honest with Michael about her feelings, but she repeatedly fails to do so. Instead, she resorts to increasingly desperate measures to sabotage the wedding, including manipulating Kimmy into asking her father to offer Michael a job, which she knows will anger him. When this fails, Julianne uses Kimmy's father's email account to forge a message to Michael's boss, asking that he be fired so that Kimmy's father can hire him instead.
In the film's original ending, Julianne meets a handsome stranger at Michael and Kimmy's wedding, but test audiences hated this, feeling that Julianne was being rewarded for her bad behaviour. The ending was changed to expand George's role as Julianne's conscience and true love. In the final scene, George shows up at the wedding and dances with a heartbroken Julianne, providing a moment of forgiveness and closure for the character.
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George's role in the original ending
In the original ending of 'My Best Friend's Wedding', Julianne meets a new love interest at Michael and Kimmy's wedding. The test audience hated this ending, feeling that Julianne was being rewarded for her bad behaviour.
The filmmakers quickly rewrote the ending, giving a more prominent role to George, Julianne's gay confidant and editor. In the final scene, George shows up at Michael's wedding and dances with Julianne. The director, P.J. Hogan, explained that this scene allowed the audience to forgive Julianne for her devious behaviour. He also said that the new ending emphasised the theme that "love is love", and that the person Julianne loved the most, and who loved her the most, was her best friend.
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George's role in the final ending
In the film 'My Best Friend's Wedding', George Downes (Rupert Everett) is the gay best friend of the protagonist Julianne "Jules" Potter (Julia Roberts). George is Julianne's editor and primary partner, and he acts as her "conscience" throughout the film, calling her out when she is being devious.
In the original script, Julianne meets a new love interest at Michael and Kimmy's wedding at the end. However, test audiences hated this ending, feeling that Julianne was being rewarded for her bad behaviour. The filmmakers then rewrote the ending, expanding George's role.
In the final ending, George shows up at Michael and Kimmy's wedding to ensure Julianne is okay. He dances with her at the reception, and the film ends with Julianne in his arms. This ending was well-received by audiences, who were able to forgive Julianne and see her prioritize her supportive friendship with George over her idealized romantic relationship with Michael.
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George's character and the gay best friend trope
In the 1997 film *My Best Friend's Wedding*, George Downes (Rupert Everett) is the gay best friend of the protagonist Julianne "Jules" Potter (Julia Roberts). Jules is a food critic who realises she is in love with her best friend Michael O'Neal (Dermot Mulroney) and tries to win him back after he decides to marry Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz). George acts as Jules' "conscience" throughout the film, advising her and calling her out when she is being devious.
George is comfortable with his sexuality and is a witty, attractive, and supportive friend to Jules. He is also her editor. In one scene, he pretends to be engaged to Jules to make Michael jealous, and in another, he embarrasses her by singing "I Say a Little Prayer" in a packed restaurant. In the original ending of the film, Jules meets a new love interest at Michael and Kimmy's wedding, but test audiences hated it, feeling that Jules was being rewarded for her bad behaviour. The ending was changed, and in the final scene, George shows up at the wedding and dances with Jules, allowing the audience to forgive her.
George's character has been described as the "only sane person in the entire movie", and as the "moral compass". He is also said to be the "true love relationship that Julianne will evolve towards", and the person in the world that Jules loves the most and who loves her the most. However, one review notes that the "gay best friend" trope in straight rom-coms may not have aged well.
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Frequently asked questions
Julianne "Jules" Potter, a 27-year-old food critic, realises she is in love with her best friend Michael when he tells her he is engaged. With only four days until the wedding, Jules schemes to break up the couple but ultimately fails.
Julia Roberts plays Julianne "Jules" Potter, a food critic. Dermot Mulroney plays Michael O'Neal, Jules' best friend and a sportswriter. Cameron Diaz plays Kimberly "Kimmy" Wallace, Michael's fiancée. Rupert Everett plays George Downes, Julianne's gay friend and editor.
George is Julianne's gay confidant and acts as her "conscience" throughout the film. He plays an important role in the ending, where he shows up at Michael's wedding and dances with Julianne.
In the original ending, Julianne meets a new love interest at the wedding. However, this ending was poorly received by test audiences, who felt that Julianne was being rewarded for her bad behaviour. In the final version, George shows up at the wedding and dances with Julianne, and she prioritises their supportive friendship.
