Pretty Woman first came out when I was 12 years old. I remember seeing the previews for it on TV and wanting to see it SO badly. By that time, I was already a fan of Julia Roberts. But I was only 12, so my parents didn’t want me to see it. According to them, the movie was rated R for a reason. There was no need for me to see it. But kids are resourceful. They find a way to do things if they want. So when it came out on video, I watched it with a friend at her house. I was hooked. Pretty Woman became my favorite movie.
Raised in a house where literature and musicals are greatly appreciated, my first thought when I saw Pretty Woman was ’’This is like My Fair Lady!’’ (which is based on the play and classic piece of literature Pygmalion). But Pretty Woman was the My Fair Lady of the 1990s instead of the 1940s.
The Story/Plot
Pretty Woman is the story of two people who have nothing in common and therefore, have no reason to be together. Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) is a young prostitute living and working on Hollywood Boulevard. Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is a ultra-successful businessman who has no life outside of work. When they accidentally meet, both of their lives are changed forever.
Edward gets lost trying to find his hotel in Beverly Hills and happens to stop on Hollywood Boulevard. Vivian approaches his car and propositions him. Instead of offering her money for sex, he offers her $5 for directions. She gets in his car and helps him find his way back to his hotel. He then invites her up to his room, having no idea what he is going to do with her. When Vivian pressures him to ’’get going, ’’ he offers to pay her for the entire night so that some of the pressure will be off of him. She accepts.
The next morning, Edward finds out that he could really benefit from ’’hiring’’ Vivian to stay the week. He is going to need a date at several functions and wants a ’’professional’’ instead of someone who is going to expect a relationship. Edward agrees to pay Vivian $3000 to stay the week. But first, she is going to need some appropriate clothing. He sends her out to buy clothes. At that point, Vivian figures out that Beverly Hills, while only a few miles away, is a completely different world than Hollywood. The people are mean to her.
Throughout the week, Vivian learns a lot about being sophisticated and ’’rich.’’ She finally gets an entire wardrobe full of clothes thanks to Edward, goes on fancy dinners, and to elite gatherings. Vivian eventually falls in love with Edward and does things she said she never would do.
At the end of the week, it is time for Vivian to go back to Hollywood and for Edward to go back to New York. But how do you return to a world that you no longer know, even though your time away was so short?
Analysis
Pretty Woman is a wonderfully fun movie to watch. While parts of it are tragic (one of the other prostitutes is murdered), overall it is fun. For those Disney/fairy tale fans, it is similar to Cinderella. For literature/musical fans, it is similar to My Fair Lady. A girl is taken in by ’’Prince Charming’’ and transformed into a totally different person.
Even without paying attention to the dialogue, you could easily watch Vivian’s transformation by watching her behavior. Julia Roberts was brilliantly directed to change her behaviorisms the longer she stays with the sophisticated Edward. In the beginning of their relationship, Vivian never sits in chairs. She always sits in an awkward, un-lady-like position on the floor, an ottoman, a desk, the edge of the table, etc. Slowly, she begins sitting in chairs, first in the chair but with her knees up in the air, then in the chair with her legs dangling, and finally in the chair, with her legs crossed and her hands beautifully folded on her lap. She goes from an un-cultured baboon-mannered girl to a well-mannered, sophisticated young lady.
There are other visual cues in the movie that are interesting to watch. The world of Hollywood Boulevard, with the prostitutes and drug dealers, is bright, with bold, garish colors. Edward’s business world is bland, with varying shades of gray. The two worlds couldn’t be any more different. But when Edward and Vivian get together, the colors are a combination of the two worlds. It is as if they are each bringing the best of their worlds to each other. Vivian brings Edward the layed-back, fun part of her world, and Edward brings Vivian the sophistication and manners of his world.
Performances
Almost all the players in Pretty Woman give a great performance. In her star-making role of Vivian, Julia Roberts is fabulous. She has the youth and energy to make Vivian seem real, but also has the composure to bring Vivian down into Edward’s world. There is a reason Julia Roberts was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance... she is great!!!
One of the lesser appreciated, but best performances in the movie is that of Hector Elizondo, who plays the manager of the hotel, Mr. Thompson. Elizondo makes the character of Mr. Thompson sweet an gentle with Vivian but also strong enough that it is believable that he is the manager of the hotel. Many of Elizondo’s best moments in acting come not from he delivery of lines, but from his facial expressions.
Richard Gere is also good in the movie, as is Jason Alexander (as Philip Stuckey, Edward’s attorney). They, however, do not give the same calibur performance as Roberts or Elazondo.
Criticisms
Many, many people have criticized Pretty Woman, saying that it glorifies prostitution and is unrealistic. While I will (maybe) give them the first one (that it glorifies prostitution), my reaction to the second criticism is ’’balderdash!’’ It is a movie!!! Movies are not all supposed to be realistic. No one ever claimed that Pretty Woman was a non-fiction story, so there is no reason for it to be realistic. People go to see movies and they read books because they want to see the story. They don’t care if it is realistic or not. It is all in fun.
Overall, I would highly recommend Pretty Woman to ADULTS who want to see a sweet love story. Sure, it is unrealistic and offers little intellectual stimulation, but it is sweet and is good entertainment. But it is NOT for children. I shouldn’t have seen this movie at age 12. There was a reason that my parents didn’t want me to see it. The same reason that I wouldn’t want my chidl to see it. It is full of adult themes and adult language. No kids allowed.
Contains foul language, sexual scenes, an attempted rape scene, drugs and alcohol, and scenes of prostitution.