SHOWBIZ: Could Do Better

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Mona Lisa Smile

Drama , Cert 12A, 119 mins

Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnifer Goodwin, Dominic West, Juliet Stevenson, Marcia Gay Harden, John Slattery, Topher Grace, Paul Vincent Black American college administrator William Arthur Ward once noted: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

Mona Lisa Smile is a syrupy tale of scholarly ambition about a great teacher who inspires her flock of impressionable young girls to flaunt convention and follow their dreams. Or, at least, that's the idea.

Recent UCLA graduate Katherine …