Pretty Woman (1990)

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.

Director:

Garry Marshall

Writer:

J.F. Lawton

Stars:

Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | prince | businessman | money | escort | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Japanese

Release Date:

23 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

$ 3,000

Filming Locations:

Giorgio Beverly Hills - 273 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$178,406,268 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 125 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The three tableaux used during the opera scene are when Violeta meets Alfredo at a party, Violeta abandons Alfredo at his father's request and the final scene where Violeta dies.

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Goofs

Edward's tie, collar, zipper, shoes, and socks when Vivian is undressing him.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Be My Baby Tonight (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Vivaldi: Autumn (The Four Seasons)"
As arranged and performed by Charlotte Georg (as Lee Ashley)
Courtesy of Capitol Production Music / Ole Georg

User Reviews

Just has that special something....

What is it about this movie that made it such an instant mega smash when it was released? I'm not sure if it's The incredible chemistry between Gear and Roberts, the smart dialog, the storyline-combination of all of the above-etc etc. But I do think These days, so few GREAT romantic comedies get made. Pretty woman is great. I enjoyed every moment of this and have seen it many times.

I haven't read any IMDb reviews of this yet, I wanted to comment first. This is a lovely story of hope and the true purity of falling madly in love-there are so many movies that try to be romantic and inevitably come across looking forced and contrived. The story and acting in Pretty woman, while very obviously being "Hollywood" to a tee, are so natural and free flowing, that it's just a joy to watch this. It's also great to see(in what's not usually the case) a romantic comedy that gets it right, in every area from casting to dialog to pretty much everything from start to finish. Great movie!