Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.
The film's story centers on Hollywood escort Vivian Ward and wealthy corporate raider Edward Lewis. Vivian is hired to be Edward's escort for several business and social functions, and their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him. The film's title Pretty Woman is based on the 1964 song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison.
The original screenplay was titled 3000 and was written by then-struggling screenwriter J. F. Lawton. Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and prostitution in Los Angeles, the film was reconceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget. Pretty Woman received mixed reviews from critics upon release, but widespread praise was directed towards Roberts' performance and her chemistry with Gere. It had the highest number of ticket sales in the US ever for a romantic comedy, with Box Office Mojo listing it as the number-one romantic comedy by the highest estimated domestic tickets sold at 42,176,400, slightly ahead of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) at 41,419,500 tickets. The relationship between Vivian and Edward also originally included Vivian being addicted to drugs; part of the deal was that she had to stay off cocaine for a week. Edward eventually throws her out of his car and drives off. The original script by J.F.Lawton, called 3000, ended with Vivian and her prostitute friend on the bus to Disneyland. The title 3000 was changed because Disney executives thought it sounded like a title for a science-fiction film.
Casting
The casting of the film was a rather lengthy process. Marshall had initially considered Christopher Reeve, Daniel Day-Lewis, Kevin Kline, and Denzel Washington for the role of Edward; and Albert Brooks, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Berenger, Christopher Lambert, Al Pacino, and Burt Reynolds turned it down. Pacino went as far as doing a casting reading with Roberts before rejecting the part as he had just cast in The Godfather Part III. Sam Neill, Tom Conti and Charles Grodin tested for the part along with Roberts. Gere initially refused but when he met with Roberts, she persuaded him and he eventually agreed to play Lewis. He reportedly started off much more active in his role; but Garry Marshall took him aside and said "No, no, no, Richard. In this movie, one of you moves and one of you does not. Guess which one you are?"
Roberts was not the first choice for the role of Vivian and was not wanted by Disney. Many other actresses were considered. Marshall originally envisioned Karen Allen for the role; when she declined, auditions went to many better-known actresses of the time including Molly Ringwald, who turned it down as she felt "there was something icky" about the story. Winona Ryder auditioned, but was turned down because Marshall thought she was "too young". Drew Barrymore, Patricia Arquette, Brooke Shields, Uma Thurman, Kristin Davis, and Rebecca Schaeffer also auditioned for the role of Vivian. Meg Ryan, who was the studio and Marshall's top choice, also turned it down. According to a note written by Marshall, Mary Steenburgen was also among the first choices. Diane Lane came very close to being cast (the script was much darker at the time); they had gone as far as costume fittings, but due to scheduling conflicts she could not accept. Michelle Pfeiffer turned the role down, saying she did not like the script's "tone." Supermodel Janice Dickinson claimed she was also considered by Marshall but dropped out after being unable to audition in a room full of people. Daryl Hannah was considered but believed the role was "degrading to women". and Jennifer Jason Leigh had auditioned. Lea Thompson unsuccessfully auditioned for the role as she thought the film was a drama.
After all the other actresses turned down the role, 21-year-old Roberts, a relative unknown with only the sleeper hit Mystic Pizza (1988) and the yet-to-be-released Steel Magnolias (1989), for which she would be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, won the role of Vivian. J.F.Lawton, writer of the original screenplay, has suggested that the film was ultimately given a happy ending because of the chemistry of Gere and Roberts. Interior scenes set in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel lobby were shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Filming commenced on July 24, 1989, but was immediately plagued by problems. These included Ferrari and Porsche declining the product placement opportunity for the car Edward drove, as neither firm wished to be associated with prostitutes.
Filming was a generally pleasant, easygoing experience, as the budget was broad and the shooting schedule was not tight. The scene in which Gere playfully snaps the lid of a jewelry case on her fingers was improvised, and her surprised laugh was unscripted. The red dress Vivian wears to the opera has been listed among the most unforgettable dresses of all time.
During the scene in which Roberts sang a Prince song in the bathtub, slid down, and submerged her head under the bubbles, she emerged to find the crew had left except for the cameraman, who captured the moment on film. In the love scene, she was so stressed that a vein became noticeable on her forehead and had to be massaged by Marshall and Gere. She also developed a case of hives, and calamine lotion was used to soothe her skin until filming resumed. Filming wrapped on October 18, 1989. Despite dropping to number two in its second weekend, it grossed more with . It was the second highest-grossing film of the year in the United States and Canada and the third highest-grossing worldwide. The film was Disney's highest-grossing film ever, surpassing Three Men and a Baby. It was also Disney's highest-grossing R-rated release until Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed it in 2024. It is the fourth-highest grossing romantic comedy film to date.
Critical response
Pretty Woman received mixed reviews from critics, with positive reviews praising the stars' chemistry and the dialogue. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 65% based on 79 reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "Pretty Woman may be a yuppie fantasy, but the film's slick comedy, soundtrack, and casting can overcome misgivings." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
The film's detractors criticized the overuse of the "hooker with a heart of gold" trope. Gary Giddins wrote, "In the insidious Pretty Woman, all women who aren't explicitly identified as tramps are gold-digging wives or snooty shopkeepers. It's the kind of working-class fantasy that wants the men in the audience to identify with a ruthless corporate pirate (Richard Gere) and the woman to identify with a simple but grandhearted streetwalker (Julia Roberts), who, given a chance, could be a lady's lady....The attempted laughs (few succeed) are at her expense."
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "D," saying it "starts out as a neo-Pygmalion comedy" and becomes a "plastic screwball soap opera", with the "kinds of characters who exist nowhere but in the minds of callowly manipulative Hollywood screenwriters". On the film's twentieth anniversary, Gleiberman wrote another article addressing his original review, saying that while he felt some of his criticisms were valid, he would have given it a "B" today.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a positive review, praising how the film is about "a particularly romantic kind of love, the sort you hardly see in the movies these days". He added it "protects its fragile love story in the midst of cynicism and compromise. The performances are critical for that purpose. Gere plays new notes here; his swagger is gone, and he's more tentative, proper, even shy. Roberts does an interesting thing; she gives her character an irrepressibly bouncy sense of humor and then lets her spend the movie trying to repress it. Actresses who can do that and look great can have whatever they want in Hollywood."
Carina Chocano of The New York Times said the movie "wasn't a love story, it was a money story. Its logic depended on a disconnect between character and narrative, between image and meaning, between money and value, and that made it not cluelessly traditional but thoroughly postmodern." In a 2019 interview, Roberts expressed uncertainty over whether the film could be made today due to its controversial premise, commenting, "So many things you could poke a hole in, but I don't think it takes away from people being able to enjoy it".
Accolades
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| Academy Awards
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| BMI Film & TV Awards
| Film Music Award
| James Newton Howard
|
|-
| Most Performed Song from a Film
| "It Must Have Been Love" – Per Gessle
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| British Academy Film Awards
| Best Film
| Arnon Milchan, Steven Reuther and Garry Marshall
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Leading Role
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Screenplay – Original
| J. F. Lawton
|
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Marilyn Vance
|
|-
| César Awards
| Best Foreign Film
| Garry Marshall
|
|-
| David di Donatello Awards
| Best Foreign Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Golden Globe Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
| Richard Gere
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
| Hector Elizondo
|
|-
| colspan="3"| Golden Screen Awards
|
|-
| Jupiter Awards
| Best International Actress
| rowspan="2"| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Kids' Choice Awards
| Favorite Movie Actress
|
|-
| People's Choice Awards
| colspan="2"| Favorite Comedy Motion Picture
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Awards
| Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen
| J. F. Lawton
|
|}
American Film Institute lists:
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions – 21
Music
The soundtrack features the songs (among others):
- "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, which inspired its title
- Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love," originally released in December 1987, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990
- "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West
- "Show Me Your Soul" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "No Explanation" by Peter Cetera
- "Wild Women Do" by Natalie Cole
- "Fallen" by Lauren Wood
The soundtrack has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The opera featured in the film is La Traviata, which also served as inspiration for its plot. The highly dramatic aria fragment that is repeated is the end of "Dammi tu forza!" ("Give me strength!"), from the opera. Roberts sings the song "Kiss" by Prince while she is in the tub and Gere's character is on the phone. Background music is composed by James Newton Howard. The piano piece Gere's character plays in the hotel lobby was improvised on the spot by Gere himself, as he states in this interview.
Musical adaptation
A stage musical adaptation of the film opened on Broadway on July 20, 2018, in previews, officially on August 16 at the Nederlander Theatre. This follows an out-of-town tryout at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, which ran from March 13 to April 15, 2018. The musical has music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance; the late Garry Marshall and J.F.Lawton wrote the book; and Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer. The Chicago and Broadway cast featured Samantha Barks, in her Broadway debut as Vivian and Steve Kazee as Edward. Barks finished her run as Vivian on July 21, 2019, and was replaced by Jillian Mueller the following evening, with Brennin Hunt, of Rent fame, assuming the role of Edward.