If someone were to ask me about my all time favorite movie/s, there are three names that echo in my mind rather unequivocally: Top Gun, Pretty Woman and Sholay!!! One might find this weird but my logic of watching a movie is to watch a movie with all logics left behind. One might also want to term these as YUPPIE movies…I don’t have any quarrels with that either. The moot point is – There are certain movies that one may have watched as kids but still posses the ability to occupy top of the mind recall at any point in one’slife. This review of mine is a tribute to one such movie.
Those wonder years:-)
Pretty Woman released in early ninty’s during those bubbly teen times and glorious school days when we used to literally die seeking permission from parents to watch movies especially the ones that carried an A certificate (Funnily, for some strange reason every single English movie seemed to get released with that tag only) often resulting in our bunking school and flocking the theater. Pretty Woman, I remember distinctly was up at a nearby theatre - Chanakya (The only one screening English movies - For Adults).. We had heard rave reviews about the movies from our ADULT friends and being the inquisitive daring lot that we were, 5 of us decided to execute a mass bunk from school one fateful day and....as luck would have it we got caught on the sot by MY PARENTS (out of all the people we knew on the face of this earth) but not before we came out drooling in awe of Julia Roberts and the hunk –Gere…. Well rest is history but till date I feel that movie was worth the spanking and undue attention we got thereafter.
Pretty woman was just uuuuuummmmphhhhh……. Why?? Consider this:
’’You and I are both such similar people, We both screw people for money.’’ I have ever since flipped on this dialogue. Edward (Richard Gere) is a wh#@# (MS Does not support the full form???) and so is Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts). Only she works on Hollywood Boulevard and he stays at the Regent Beverly Hotel. That legendary song played aloud in my heart even many years after the bruise on my back healed. In school you inevitably tend to get swayed by power, power of money and power of love. That wall street moghul and that stunner (even though of a wh@#$!!)
There are movies that create an impression and there are movies that create lasting impressions, PW is a kind of movie that creates an impression lasting forever. Of course the credit goes to the awesome, lissome, stunning, extremely talented Erin Brokovich, The Run away bride – Roberts. The gap between Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride might be nearly 10 years, but the former still seems as fresh as ever. Richard Gere at his elegant best plays his part to the last bit of immaculate execution. No wonder we have seen many a concoctions rather twisted concoctions of this movie in our very own “PLAGUE-iarist” plagiarist Bollywood – the latest one having Salman doing a Gere rather giri hui act in some new movie (I am forgetting the name)
A critique’s contention:
Pretty Woman sold itself as a contemporary (the issue still remains largely unresolved even today) after Hollywood fairy tale -- a corporation man and a ’’ hooker (she keeps her rates low in the free marketplace by choosing to work without a pimp) and in the hindsight implications about what money can and cannot buy in America’s culture of greed. The fairy tale aspect of the picture almost works like a charm, thanks to some brilliant acting efforts, few snappy one-liners, and some bright direction.
Edward has bought and paid for virtually every relationship in his adult life and Vivian has always virtually sold all that she possesses in the pursuit of living and somewhere in the normal course of their business life they bump into each other. Edward makes an offer to Vivian for a series of business functions, including a fancy dinner and a polo match. Out of the bargain, she gets $3000 cash, a makeover, new clothes and a crash course in what fork to use. And, as an expected KAHANI MEIN TWIST, they both get more than they bargained for because -- surprise! -- they fall in love. (For what Money / Lust or Love???)
Now even though the story had no novelty to unfold but then who says you always need to have a perfectly crafted story line for people to appreciate the movie when in fact the entire experience of the movie has been woven to perfection. Of course, it was beyond the scope (or intention) of Pretty Woman to sharpen the real side or the dark side of life into an ironic or satirical point. It did highlight certain most discomforting issues of that time though unfortunately it still has the ability to address the same issues even after so many years on the same canvas.
Bottomline
But net net as school kid or a college stud one does not really have to understand those issues…all you need at the end of the day is your money’s worth and PW just gave that and much more…. I still can’t forget Julia in the bath tub.. man I came out of the theatre with a conviction to marry her (it was just a few seconds before I bumped into my folks and got snapped out of that aura). Every guy I knew wanted to be Edward.... (though honestly I don’t know about my female counter parts!!!!!!!! ) And their obsession more often than not resulted in their finding themselves broke 20 days before the month expired!! For all the chocolates, flowers, cards and stuff we bought for our pretty woman not realizing that there was no wall street leading us to our houses but just a battered road and a bike that demanded attention.
You see one harmless movie, one 1 ½ hr long movie has ability to stay young in your minds for so long and had the power to give you so many sweet memories then …it has to be GOOD.
And the story goes....
“Waiting eagerly for a Pretty Woman to walk down my rumbled street… The kind of girl I would like to meet--------- Julia are you there???”