The Grasshopper

This film may have been dismissed as a showcase for Jacqueline Bisset's beauty when it was initially released, but viewing it thirty-two years later reveals not only that directors should have recognized Bisset's brilliant performance and given her the type of film career which Julia Roberts has had, but also it dared to present the issues of interracial marriage and homosexuality as simple facts of life without any intentional shock value.

In a time when films had presented gay and lesbian characters as victims and victimizers, Christine's gay friend Buck (Roger Garrett) is her joyful sidekick who is accepted by his coworkers, at least until a friend's little boy reveals what his mother says when Buck is not around, to which Buck replies with a rebuttal which is sensitive to the child but conveys his true feelings to the mother.

Speaking of Julia Roberts, The Grasshopper was written by Garry Marshall, who went on to direct Roberts in Pretty Woman. While Pretty Woman was justly criticized for its message to girls that if they run away to Hollywood and become a hooker they will find the man of their dreams, The Grasshopper is a realistic portrayal of how women who gamble on financial security provided by men can ultimately suffer severe consequences.