Pretty Woman

Plot

A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets… only to fall in love.

Release Year: 1990

Rating: 6.7/10 (90,142 voted)

Critic's Score: 51/100

Director:
Garry Marshall

Stars: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander

Storyline
Edward is a rich, ruthless businessman who specializes in taking over companies and then selling them off piece by piece. He travels to Los Angeles for a business trip and decides to hire a prostitute. They take a liking to each other and he offers her money if she'll stay with him for an entire week while he makes the "rich and famous" scene (since it doesn't do for a man of his stature to be alone at society parties and polo matches). Romantic comedy (and complications) ensue.

Cast:

Richard Gere
–

Edward Lewis

Julia Roberts
–

Vivian Ward

Ralph Bellamy
–

James Morse

Jason Alexander
–

Philip Stuckey

Laura San Giacomo
–

Kit De Luca

Alex Hyde-White
–

David Morse

Amy Yasbeck
–

Elizabeth Stuckey

Elinor Donahue
–

Bridget

Hector Elizondo
–

Barney Thompson

Judith Baldwin
–

Susan

Jason Randal
–

Magician

Bill Applebaum
–

Howard

Tracy Bjork
–

Female Guest

Gary Greene
–

Male Guest

Billy Gallo
–

Carlos

(as William Gallo)

Taglines:
Who knew it was so much fun to be a hooker?

Release Date: 23 March 1990

Filming Locations: Ambassador Hotel – 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $14,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $11,280,591
(USA)
(25 March 1990)
(1325 Screens)

Gross: $463,406,268
(Worldwide)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min
 |
USA: 125 min
(director's cut)

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Kristin Davis did an audition for the role of Vivian but turned it down.

Goofs:

Errors in geography:
Supposedly flying north from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the plane is shown with the sun setting off the starboard wing.

Quotes:

[first lines]

Magician at party:
No matter what they say, it's all about money. So let's imagine, ladies, that you're a savings and loan officer. Watch – one, two, three; see, you've got it all, and we've got nothing. You've got all four, take a look.

User Review

Such a dream, just you DO NOT think

Rating:


Obviously similar to Shaw's "Pygmalion", but updated, more modern.

A lovely dream, one very old: rescuing a prostitute from the street.
(Not in Woody Allen's sickish-moody way.)

However, if you wish to dream this one, be sure you do NOT start to
think very logically . . . She is healthy, not on drugs, not on
alcohol, not even a smoker; no syphilis, no gonorrhea, no AIDS wounds
on her legs, nothing, she is just perfectly absolutely healthy. Body
and mind. She is not a criminal, not inclined to steal anything, she
even values love and dignity more than money. Oh, she has no pimp, who
would be the other man (other than Richard Gere) in her life; nobody to
protect her from smart types who walk off without paying; the pimp
would explode the whole romance instantly. (Instead, a girl friend.)

She has a golden soul, full of goodness, and loves art, and feels for
art. High-society types around them appear silly, artificial, stuffy.
(Different forks.) She is natural. She even was a good student (!) and
. . . might be again? She loves to bathe, and half the time we see her
happy in the bath tub (which is a powerful signal and symbol for CLEAN,
CLEAN; she even sings so super-ultra-charmingly in the bath; she wants
to wash off the foolishness of her previous few months of street. And
she can do it.

But with all those qualities, WHY would she ever become a prostitute in
the first place? Don't think, don't think. Just dream, it is lovely.