1990
Directed by Garry Marshall
I don't want to seem like a snob for disliking this film. I don't have a problem with the romantic comedy genre, which you could probably tell after I declared passionate love for When Harry Met Sally in a previous post. But something about this movie rubs me the wrong way.
Edward Lewis, a wealthy business, takes a detour through Hollywood Boulevard on his way to Beverly Hills. He encounters Vivian Ward, a prostitute, who tries to pick him up. He tells her he only wants directions (give me a break) and will pay her if she shows him the right way to go. He decides she is not so gross after all and ends up paying her for sex. The morning after, he extends their "contract" to include the whole week so that she can accompany him to social events. Because apparently Richard Gere can't get a date for free.
I mean, the whole premise is just so ridiculous. It is laughable for all the wrong reasons. Prostitution is too serious a topic to be dressed up in this fluffy, romcom garb. Are we honestly supposed to believe Vivian doesn't have a pimp? Or doesn't have any kind of drug problem? I think we are supposed to think all her problems are solved at the end of the film. I suppose Edward could pay for the therapy.
There were smaller moments in the film that were just baffling to me. I guess we were supposed to feel empowered when Vivian told off the snobby shop workers after Edward gave her his credit cards? In your faces, bitches! She has a rich boyfriend now! Hurray underprivileged women everywhere!
I would probably avoid a gritty, realistic film about prostitution in Los Angeles, as it would be extremely upsetting to me. But I can't stomach this either.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Julia Roberts got so nervous filming the sex scenes that she broke out in hives. Hot.
I've just looked up to see what hives are.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a constant source of education for me.
Haha I'm very glad to hear it. Maybe we can cover boils next.
DeleteI thought this movie was absolutely ridiculous. Everything about it was absurd.Fairy Tale Movie. Not to be a real buzz kill but: I recently found out that many young women who have unfortunately live "The Life" (prostitution) actually think this could happen to them. Forced to live lives they didn't choose, they hope that this can happen to them.Since I listened to their interviews and heard them speak, I am saddened by this movie now. I know sometimes movies can just be for fun, but....this was a silly, silly movie...and not in a good way.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's upsetting.
DeleteQuite. Being a street sex worker in LA looks SO good.. so glamourous, meet such nice guys, lots of opportunities for a better life
ReplyDeleteI know. I wonder if anyone making this realized the message and didn't care, or if they are really that ignorant.
DeleteCinema and entertainment have always taken this attitude towards vice and poverty. Breakfast at Tiffany's is delightful as long as you overlook the fact that it's a love story between a struggling hooker and a rent boy and pretend not to understand why she's getting paid $50 to "powder my nose".
ReplyDeletePossibly Pretty Woman comes at the tail-end of an era when we might have looked films like that and its aftermath has been played out entirely in an era where we take a more cynical/moralistic approach to these subjects. Yes, it's awful if you try and justify it, but perhaps that's in part because it was a product of its time rather than too much unmindfulness of those involved.
I remember when I read Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time, I was pretty horrified. Idk I think even without its misguided values, it is still a pretty awful movie.
DeleteWell, yes, that's the other thing. Even if we overlook the values, is it still any good? It's better polished and more stylishly delivered than most rom-coms of this genre. And I can well see why it is sufficiently iconic for inclusion in the book. But...
ReplyDeleteMaybe. I just find the two leads unlikable and I don't remember the dialogue being particularly clever.
DeleteThere's much worse out there servicing this genre. I mean, have you actually seen Maid In Manhattan? Just one viewing and you'll be weeping tears of desperation to be allowed to watch Pretty Woman again instead.
ReplyDeleteProudly, I have not seen that movie. I assume she's a maid and falls for a rich guy? Is there a wacky misunderstanding?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the band Bongwater and their song "Folk Song" off their album "Power of Pussy". They totally rip into "Pretty Women" for much the same reasons as you do.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks! I love a good rant.
ReplyDelete