Pretty Woman

I ran out of things to do last night, so I watched Pretty Woman again. Pretty Woman might be one of the most beloved movies of all time. The plot is the typical improbable Hollywood story. A successful-but-lonely billionaire corporate raider picks up a poor-but-goodhearted prostitute on Hollywood Blvd. He is intrigued by her genuineness and pays her to stay with him for a week. During the course of the week she causes him to re-evaluate his workaholic life, and his cutthroat business practices. And as he treats her with respect, she learns to value her own life more. Aside from the questionable moralities, this is not really a believable story. I mean, this kind of stuff doesn't happen every day. But I think this movie shows that audiences are willing to suspend their disbelief for "good" movies. So why does this movie work? What elements turn what could have been a very pedestrian romantic comedy into a classic?

Stars - we all love the stars, especially new ones. Julia Roberts lights up the screen in this, her breakout role. She had some critical, though not necessarily popular, success in Steel Magnolias. But Pretty Woman created the image that carried her to superstardom - the smile, the beautiful dresses, the spunky attitude. Even Richard Gere was relatively unknown at this point, although he had several successful roles in American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, and The Cotton Club.

Screen Chemistry - this pairing of Julia Roberts and Richard Gere has to go up there among the top screen couples of all time. It's hard to predict when that chemistry will happen, and there's no guarantee that it will happen again (ahem, Runaway Bride). But what would Pretty Woman be without its two stars. In the same way, what would Casablanca be without Humprey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, or Titanic without Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet?

Good Filmmaking - Garry Marshall is an accomplished director, and I like the way he gives this movie an honest, straightforward treatment. Sometimes you'll see movies like this being filled with cliches, overdone sentimentality, unorthodox camerawork, or even slapstick in order to get an audience reaction. Pretty Woman is fortunately free of this, instead relying on strong character development to engage viewers, and I think this contributes to its timeless quality. There are also some very memorable visuals - Julia Roberts in the red dress, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere taking the day off to picnic in the park, etc.

Emotional Truth - As I said, the story is a bit hard to believe, but there is some truth in the movie. The actors do a good job selling the emotions of their characters, and I feel the movie does say some profound things about self-respect, and people believing in each other.