Director : Garry Marshall
Producer : Gary W. Goldstein, Steven Reuther
Screenwriter : J.F. Lawton
Starring : Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo, Hector Elizondo, Alex Hyde-White
Every cliché has at least one perfect example: An “Exhibit A” that makes the
hidden good side of the cliché come to light and makes the jaded tired old
story new again. For the tale of the hooker with the heart of gold, the perfect
example is Petty Woman.
You have a dapper, somewhat older wealthy man (Richard Gere), a surprisingly
attractive prostitute (Julia Roberts), a toadie type (Jason Alexander) bent on
breaking up the high roller and the ho, and the kindly gent (Hector Elizondo)
who teaches the trailer trash how to hang with the upper crust.
Pretty Woman is just as much a fairy tell as ever… executed just perfectly
enough to make your mouth water. It’s candy for your brain.
Despite being pure saccharine, Pretty Woman does it with such style and grace
you hardly notice how stupidly it all fits together. Gere and Roberts drip a
dapper chemistry, Roberts oozes a saucy spunk, and Gere actually pulls off
being both an effective lovesick pretty boy and a cutthroat quick-buck
businessman who learns the value of the long-term investment. Elizondo plays
the My Fair Lady game as solid as I’ve ever seen, and Alexander plays the
soulless short asshole as only he can.
Pretty Woman is the perfect version of a really bad story, but it’s pulled off
with a great cast and a solid screenplay. It’s held the test of time and has
finally become what all the lovesick teens said it was all along: a classic.
The 15th Anniversary DVD a commentary track, deleted scenes, and a handful of
archival featurettes.
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" Excellent "
Rating: R, 1990