Pretty Woman

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For the Roy Orbison song sometimes known as "Pretty Woman", see Oh, Pretty Woman.

Pretty Woman is an American romantic comedy motion picture that was one of the top films at the box office in 1990. The title character, a prostitute named Vivian Ward, was played by Julia Roberts, who received a Golden Globe award for her role. She was also nominated for an Academy Award, Best Actress. Screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award and a British Academy Award.

Contents

1 Overview
2 Music
3 Trivia
4 Primary cast
5 Awards
6 External links

Overview

Pretty Woman is the highest-grossing film of the romantic comedy genre, and possibly the most well-known. Set in Hollywood during the early 1990s, its themes include the tension between romantic love and social class: the main characters represent utter opposites in social class and wealth, while both work in occupations considered indecent by mainstream society, and yet are given sympathetic depiction. The film can be seen as a modern adaptation of the Pygmalion myth, and also bears striking resemblences to George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name (see Pygmalion (play), which also formed the basis for the musical My Fair Lady.

The male lead is a businessman Edward Lewis (played by Richard Gere). While ruthless in business — he is a "corporate raider" — he is portrayed as intelligent, sensitive, and pensive, unlike the more common stereotype of the late 1980s financial tycoon as coarse and narcissistic (and often nouveau riche). Asking for directions to his hotel, he meets a prostitute, Vivian. (In the United States, as in much of the world, prostitutes come disproportionately from the lower classes, and Vivian is understood to suffer from financial deprivation and desperation.) Because of her deprived background, she is naive and unaware of social graces, resulting in mild embarrassment for herself and Edward, but good-natured, cheerful, and unpretentious. In contrast to class and occupational archetypes — she's smart, kind, and perceptive. An unlikely love relationship grows between Edward and Vivian, and throughout the movie they struggle with the differences in social class and values.

Music

The film features the song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, the title of which inspired that of the movie. Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990. The soundtrack also features "The King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West and "Wild Women Do" by Natalie Cole.

The opera featured in the movie is La Traviata, which was also the inspiration for the plot of the movie. The piano piece which Richard Gere's character plays in the hotel lobby was composed by and performed by Gere.

Trivia

Possibly due to the controversial subject matter, the movie was heavily edited. Groundbreaking on account of its sympathetic depiction of an occupation thought dishonorable and indecent by most Americans, the film has been described as featuring "a prostitute with a heart of gold".

Various rewrites of the original script portrayed Vivian as hypersexual and a heavy drug user. These traits, detrimental to the otherwise sympathetic portrayal of her, were removed or incorporated into the character of Vivian's friend, Kit. These "cut scenes" have been found in public view, and some were included on the DVD released on the movie's 15th anniversary. One such scene has Vivian offering Edward, "I could just pop ya good and be on my way", indicating a disinterest in "pillow talk". In another, she is confronted by drug dealers outside of The Blue Banana, and rescued by Edward.

Roberts has said that the body on the movie's cover is not her own; her head was pasted on a photograph of her body double, who also appeared in the opening sequence of the film. But according to the Director's Commentary Track on the 10th & 15th aniversaty DVDs, this is not a body double. The reason you don't see Vivian's face in these shots is because you're not yet supposed to know her natural hair color, so you will surprised later in the film when she removes her wig.

This movie might have been influenced in part by the movie That Touch of Mink, starring Cary Grant and Doris Day.

Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah and Molly Ringwald turned down the role of Vivian.

The more recent film, The Princess Diaries, a parallel to the Pretty Woman film, has many of the same supporting cast members and the same lines used in Pretty Woman. Garry Marshall is the director of both films.

Roberts and Gere would reunite in Runaway Bride.

The movie's plot is based Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata.

Primary cast

Richard Gere: Edward Lewis
Julia Roberts: Vivian Ward
Ralph Bellamy: James Morse
Jason Alexander: Philip Stuckey
Laura San Giacomo: Kit De Luca
Hector Elizondo: Barney Thompson
Hank Azaria: Detective (Hollywood Blvd.)
Alex Hyde-White: David Morse
Amy Yasbeck: Elizabeth Stuckey
Elinor Donahue: Bridget
Bill Applebaum: Howard
Billy Gallo: Carlos

Awards

Won:

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Julia Roberts)

Nominated:

External links

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