Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is a romantic comedy film. It was directed by Garry Marshall who also brought us Happy Days. The film stars Richard Gere and a relatively unknown Julia Roberts. The strong supporting cast includes Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Laura Sin Giacomo and Alex Hyde-White.

At the box office Pretty Woman was an instant hit and is still one of the highest grossing films of its genre of all time. However, even though audiences loved its romantic theme, critics gave the film a mixed reception.

Some viewers found the story to be implausible as the real life of a street walker is not so sweet and charming as is made out in the film, however, most people agree that Roberts’ performance was the high point. Her energy and exuberance in an unsavoury situation made her character believable and audiences found themselves surprised to sympathise with a prostitute.

Richard Gere was, as ever, popular as the good looking male lead and did a great job, but he definitely played second fiddle in this film. The glorious settings add a bit of glitz and glamour to the film.

A young prostitute becomes involved with an older conservative business man when he hires her as an escort for a week of meetings and events. Their growing relationship begins to affect the businessman and he exorcises his demons to become a better person.

Cinema release 1990

Certificate 18

Available on DVD and Blue Ray