Cinderella goes to LA

Rating: 3/10 (20 January 2012)

Isn't it funny that some movies you need to watch a number of times before the plot and the action burn themselves into your mind, while others you need only watch once and you are cursed for the rest of your life remembering the movie. This is the case with Pretty Woman. I watched it quite some time ago, and still remember that it is about a lonely business man on a trip to Los Angeles, picks up a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard, and then falls in love with her.
This is a typical Cinderella story in a sense. Okay Cinderella was imprisoned in her castle as a scullery maid by her ugly step sisters, but is rescued by her fairy godmother, given a wonderful night with Prince Charming, and then flees before midnight only to have Prince Charming track her down and marry her. This is not necessarily the plot of this film, but it is a story of a less than ordinary woman (she is a hooker) who is found by a wealthy individual who then falls in love with her. Thus while it is rags to riches, it is through marriage that the heroine goes from being a hooker to being a princess.
This was a very popular movie, but it was not one of the great movies in that it came out, flew high, and then returned to obscurity. However it is one that sits on my mother's shelf, despite me cringing at the idea of creating a romantic movie round a prostitute. I can see that there would have been a lot of criticism regarding making a woman of the night the heroine, and raising her up to a new lifestyle. There are many that would cringe at that and claim that such a woman does not deserve a chance to succeed. She doesn't really succeed though, she is in the right place at the right time, and is picked up by the right man.
I would not recommend that people go out and become prostitutes simply so that they might meet the man of their dreams, it simply does not happen. In some countries prostitution is legal (such as Germany and the Netherlands) however that is not the case in the US. It is still illegal and while those who hire the services may not necessarily be thugs, it is a culture that is permeated with drugs and violence.
The final thing I wish to mention is the kissing. Throughout the movie we are told that prostitutes do not kiss and suggest that is because kissing brings about a more intimate relationship, which is not what prostitution is about. This is rubbish since sex in and of itself creates an intimate relationship. The best reason I found out about the reason behind the non-kissing rule is more to prevent the transmission of disease than about anything somewhat to do with intimate relationships.