This film is one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time and turned Julia Roberts in to the Hollywood starlet that she is today! Also starring Richard Gere - and directed by Garry Marshall, the on-screen chemistry between Roberts and Gere is simply smouldering!!!!!!!!!!!
The story..... Julia Roberts plays the character of Vivian - a prostitute working the streets of Hollywood Boulevard. She's not the "typical" prostitute, and doesn't really seem to fit in with the other girls.
Richard Gere plays the character of Edward - a multi millionaire businessman. His world consists of corporate parties and black tie charity events. He is a workaholic and his only friends are the people who work for him - like his lawyer.
On his way to the Beverley Wilshire Hotel in Beverley Hills, Edward gets lost and asks for directions from Vivian. After some witty banter - in which Vivian manages to get $20 out of Edward for directions, Vivian personally shows Edward where his hotel is. He even lets her drive the lotus sports car to the hotel!
When arriving at the hotel, Edward invites Vivian to accompany him into the hotel and he orders strawberries and champagne for them both.
Vivian is impressed by the luxurious surroundings, but informs Edward that the romantic gestures are unnecessary as she is a sure thing! Edward offers her $300 to spend the night. Vivian only has 1 rule - no kissing on the mouth. The next morning, Edward makes a business proposal to Vivian - $3000 to spend the week accompanying him to business dinners and parties.
Edward is in the process of taking over another company (Morse Enterprises) and invites Vivian to a very important business dinner with the Morse directors. He gives Vivian money to buy more appropriate clothing for the event and off she goes to Rodeo Drive....
When she enters the posh designer boutiques on Rodeo Drive, the assistants treat Vivian like dirt and completely humiliate her. Vivian leaves the stores without any new clothes and in floods of tears.
The manager of the hotel informs Vivian that once her stay with Edward is over, he does not expect to see her at the hotel again. At first he is very frosty and harsh towards Vivian, but warms to her when she explains what happened on Rodeo Drive and helps her to buy a suitable cocktail dress. He also shows her how to use the cutlery and crockery properly and teaches her how to behaviour at a formal occasion. Vivian starts to become an elegant and classy lady. The friendship between Vivian and Bernard the hotel manager is very touching - he is like a proud father watching Vivian bloom.
As the week continues, Edward and Vivian grow closer - and he takes her to the opera. Julia Roberts lookings stunning in the red dress she wears to the opera but as the week continues what will happen to them? Wil their completely different backgrounds prevent them from having a relationship? Or is this simply a business transaction to them both? Both of them are obsessed by money and success - so who knows? I'll leave it to you to find out!
The main theme in this film is that love knows no boundaries. It is a touching and heart-warming story. Julia Roberts is fantastic as the slightly gobby prostitute and Richard Gere shines as the slightly arrogant businessman. The film also shows how money can change a person's life - sometimes for good, and sometimes not.
This is one of the most famous romantic comedies ever made, and subsequent attempts to recreate the chemistry between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in other films (eg. Runaway Bride), have appeared miserable in comparison.
Pretty Woman can be bought on DVD fairly cheaply, i've seen it on sale in Woolworths for about £5 and on the internet - check out www.tesco.com.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Production Year: 2004 - Comedy - Director: John Hay - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jimi Mistry, Kate Miles, Dougray Scott
Production Year: 1992 - Comedy - Director: Tim Robbins - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ray Wise, Alan Rickman, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Robbins
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Re-rated based on Ciao's insistence that such reviews are no longer considered "Off Topic"
shazzaspannered 09.08.2006 23:53
This is one of my ultimate chick flicks! Shame I can only watch it when my boyfriend is out for the night. Great review x
Soho_Black 12.03.2006 11:10
I see you've posted this as a DVD review, but you've not mentioned the DVD. Are there any extras? If so, what are they and are they any good? If you add to this, or if you change it to be posted as a "Film Only" review, which can be done by accessing "edit review" in the top right of the review and changing the drop down menu under the "Which format are you reviewing?" question at the bottom, please let me know and I'll re-rate.
Advantages: This movie is warm and funny at the same time, it has a good story line and is very easy to follow Disadvantages: It has some aggresion in it and some bad language
superhuman52 18.07.2004 (18.07.2004)
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