THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED
I guess love really does come from unexpected places.
PLOT
Pretty Woman follows New York corporate raider Edward Lewis, who buys and diminishes struggling companies. He wants his girlfriend to accompany him during a business trip in Los Angeles, but she ends the relationship when he calls her, refusing to be a 'beck and call girl'. He borrows a sports car from his lawyer Philip Stuckey and accidentally finds himself in Hollywood Boulevard when trying to reach Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. It is at Hollywood Boulevard where he meets prostitute Vivian Ward and pays her $20 to drive him there as she knows how to drive the car unlike him. Once they get there, he pays her $300 for the night and despite the awkwardness in between, he finds her charming. By morning, he offers her $3000 for her services for the next six days, which she ultimately accepts. He gives her extra money for a new wardrobe, as he plans to bring her along as his date wherever he wants her. She does try to go shopping at Rodeo Drive, but is kicked out by rude saleswomen. She ends up turning to the hotel's manager, Barney, who helps her by teaching kitchen etiquette and arranging her to have a cocktail dress for a business dinner with Edward. Despite leaving a good impression on company owner James Morse (Ralph Bellamy) and his protege grandson David (Alex Hyde-White), they refuse to sell it to Edward. Since the night didn't go as planned, he chooses to personally open up to Viv of how he wasn't close to his father before he died. When they go out to a polo game the next day, Stuckley originally suspects her to be a spy, but Edward caves and admits how they met. When the lawyer crudely flirts with her, she gets offended for being exposed. When she confronts her client of his mistake, he apologizes and admitted that he felt jealous when she briefly spoke to David. The next night, they attend an opera at San Francisco and she ends up enjoying it. Afterwards, she breaks her 'no kissing' rule when having sex with him and admits that she's grown to love him. As the business trip is getting closer to end, Edward offers to get her off the streets by putting her up in a condo and giving her an allowance, promising to visit regularly. She chooses to turn him down, out of being offended that he still identifies her as a prostitute. When he goes out for his last meeting for the week, she gets a visit from her friend Kit (Laura San Giacomo) and converses how unsure she is with her feelings towards him. At the meeting, he decides to offer James his help to save his company instead of dismantling it. This disappoints Stuckley because it will cost them a fortune. When he decides to confront him at the hotel, he only finds Vivian. He attempts to rape her, but thankfully, Edward stops that from happening as pulls him off her, punches him in the face, fires him and kicks him out of his room. With business in LA done, he does offer her to stay another night, but she turns him down and leaves with the promised payment. When she returns to her apartment, she plans to move to San Francisco. That all changes because the film ends with Edward pulling up to her apartment with a chauffeur to confess his love for her and the two make amends with a kiss.
THOUGHTS
This is my mother’s favorite movie throughout my lifetime and hers and growing up at first, I never gave it a chance because the plot sounded ridiculous. Now that I’ve gotten older, I finally got around seeing this film completely and I am blown away of how much I enjoyed it. Every time I look back now, I feel like Director Gary Marshall and Writer JF Lawton were able to share an unexpectedly cute love story that tells us exactly how to look for love: Be yourself, don’t judge a book by the cover and don’t think you can buy love. Without the Incredible chemistry from both leads, this would’ve not been caught on. In her second Oscar nominated performance, Julia Roberts shines so bright like a diamond, it is challenging to not love her as Vivian. She has grown to be a beloved character as we understand that despite not having the best line of work, she remained an empowering person who mostly stood by the rules she would set. She doesn’t like her job, but she knows things happen for a reason and she is in charge of her destiny. She falls for Edward because he was the only other person that tried seeing her as an equal. It takes a while for him to get there, but it was worth it in the long run since he did love her as a person and not an object. I really enjoyed the opera scene because that was the moment where she realized how she felt and was worried to lose that feeling. Plus, it will be forever satisfying when she tells the Rodeo Drive employee she made “Big mistake” kicking her out, “Big. Huge”. As for Richard Gere, he made Edward a respectable character because he was a guy that ended up learning how to love and respect people for who they are. His past relationships backfired because he didn’t do just that. So he falls for Viv because she inspired him to be better. When they share their first kiss, you already know where they stand and when you hear James Newton Howard’s enlightening score, you knew there was nothing but love in the air. Aside from saving her from Stuckley, he proves that he is willing to fight for love when attempting to overcome his fear of heights when climbing the fire escape. If you’re fighting for love, then your relationship is gonna last a long time and I hope this is the case for these two. Although both leads make the movie an unforgettable experience, there were two other supporting characters that help spice things up. At first, Hector Elizondo shows off Barney as the most dignified of characters onscreen, but he chooses to show his heart towards Viv because he knows that she means well. Had he not helped her out, the chances of her and Edward falling in love would've been more slim than they already were. Now just when you thought Jason Alexander was the biggest slime as George Costanza on NBC's Seinfeld, the role of Stuckley takes the cake. This guy was without a doubt the worst because he forces himself onto Viv, he becomes easy to hate due to focusing on what benefits him more than others. Considering that Edward never identified him as a friend, it probably riled him up more than his final decision with Morse's company. This movie is better than it should be, but it doesn’t excuse the stack of flaws I caught. It is an interesting shot showing off Vivian’s pictures before we see her, but what is the point of having them if she crossed off the faces of those that were in the pics with her? Yes it sets up that she is a complex person, but I think it was an odd way to set it up. I want to like Kit like other viewers do, but I don’t condone her using the rent money behind Viv’s back. She doesn’t even have a good excuse and that makes it harder to like her. I don’t want to judge Viv’s intelligence, but how could she think Edward would not afford $300 for a whole night when he is staying at a penthouse? The lines are align that he can afford more than $3000. It’s even weird how she doesn’t know where to shop at places near the hotel when she’s a local. And why should she be surprised of being kicked out by the rude employees of Rodeo Drive? I know it sets up a clever ‘Fuck you’ moment later on, but it never mattered hoe much money she had, she should’ve known that was bound to happen. And I enjoy the ending like everyone else, but how did Edward’s honk made her curious when she lives in Hollywood Boulevard, an area where cars are honking every day? It could be the opera music as well, but that honk should not be any different. I also find it hypocritical that Edward claims to not dive headfirst into romance, yet paid for Viv’s services when his sidechick turned him down. He’s honest about everything but the reason he paid for her. She ain’t gonna offended why. I’ve already made clear that Stuckey sucks, but god he ain’t even trying to hide it when he flirts with Viv in public. This guy is asking to get caught by anyone if not his wife. It’s even stupid of how he says ‘hooker’ out loud near the receptionist. He doesn’t want Edward to lose his job, so he should’ve waited to say that until they were in another room. Ignore every said issue and you’ll still be in love with this movie for what it is. In conclusion, Pretty Woman is one of the best rom coms for actually succeeding in making people believe in love. And whether or not you have a significant other by the time you’re reading this, check this out so that your heart could be warmer than ever.
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