Once Julia arrives at the Packett home in the south of France, she naturally tries to make up, emotionally and physically, for all the lost time with her daughter - 18 years to be exact - and she spares no time in doing so. For starters, she cons a man, Col. Bruce 'Bunny' Willowbrook (Nigel Bruce) into giving her money for gifts, tries to play matchmaker for Susan and painter Ritchie (Peter Lawford) even though Susan's getting married to someone else (no biggie), and manages to make William fall for her again, much to the ire of Mrs. Packett.

But back to the movie.

 

For a while in the early 40s, Garson's laugh was as rare as Garbo's, which made it almost as anticipated in 1948 as Garbo's was in Ninotchka nine years earlier. Thus, its return in full force, so perfectly timed both in her personal life and in the role of Julia, is a delight to watch. Garson portrayed several strong female characters throughout her career, and while Julia is sharp in her own right, she's a whole different ballgame, perhaps coming closest to Paula in the early scenes of Random Harvest back in 1942. Here, the actress sparkles as the lovably carefree, flirtatious former (or current still?) showgirl who gave up her rich husband and young daughter for life on the stage. Though not forced into her position (and the attitude of the era in the form of Mrs. Packett reminds her of that often), the path she chose suits her better: Julia's vivacious and blithe, whereas the Packett clan leads a quiet, uneventful life, as evidenced by Susan's joint rearing by her father and grandmother, the latter's influence the stronger of the two.  

 

Julia's arrival at the house, a surprise to William and unwelcome to Mrs. Packett, hilariously uproots the peace and quiet that existed previously, and her re-entry into the Packett world notably re-ignites the dormant lively spirit in William. William clearly relishes the opportunity to warm up to her again, and that feeling most likely occurred on a personal level for Pidgeon as well since the two actors were so close (he famously told an interviewer once, "I did eight pictures with that gal and we never had a bad word between us"). From the first time William sees Julia again in an acrobatic show where she replaces Fred's mother because Julia accidently got her drunk, it's obvious that he's always loved her; after concerns for her safety cease (she is atop a pyramid of men), William lights up when she appears on stage, and Pidgeon glides through the part with laidback ease as he "skillfully injects just the right amount of underplaying to balance broader delivery of his partner in fun," according to Variety's review of the film.

 

However, the biggest adjustment for Julia is that of motherhood, 18 years after the fact. Julia's mature treatment of her daughter, who is about to be married, contrasts greatly with Mrs. Packett's strict mothering. The latter clearly doesn't want the lively Julia to be a hindrance in either Susan or William's lives; after all, she wasn't involved in the first 18 years, why now? Well, it seems not everyone holds that opinion, as ironically it was Susan who invited Julia to the wedding, though she doesn't admit it to her grandmother. Susan's secretly ecstatic that Julia came, and since this is a comedy, there's no room for Susan to feel any hostility toward her mother, who abandoned her for a career. Conversely, Julia quickly eases into the mother role, using her just-kicked-in maternal radar to uncover what no one else seems to realize: painter Ritchie is painfully in love with shy Susan, though being young and naive, Susan finds Ritchie's flirtations rather repulsive at first. It seems what she was missing all along was a mother figure to guide her through the rocky roads that are the teenage years.