One of the best romantic comedies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2017)

I remember watching this film when it first came out. Even as someone who at the time did not care for romantic comedies, I actually liked it. I mean, it was not another Eisenstein or Kubrick, but for what it was, it worked for me. That was some quarter of a century ago.
Then, recently I started watching all those romantic comedies that I avoided over the years, and this one came up. Why not - let's see how I feel about it now.
And I must admit, I was stunned, in the most positive way! Again, this is not Citizen Kane or City Lights. It is a fair tale set in the modern times, but what I loved about it, now that I have a few more years of experience under my belt, was that it was crafted with incredible attention to detail.
Everything, and I mean EVERY little thing was done impeccably: the smooth setup at the beginning, gentle and interesting enough that we are never bothered by how unrealistic it is. The dialogues which are never forced. Scenery, which obviously being set in Beverly Hills could not be better. And finally, the ending which works so well.
I generally don't believe in films created by a committee. Pretty Woman went through so many re-writes and test screenings that one cannot recognize the original idea in the final result. The original was supposed to be a gritty story about a hooker, and while more realistic, it could never achieve what the fairy tale story about a nice hooker with a big heart could achieve - that great feeling that there is still love in the world that maybe, just maybe, things could turn out really well for anyone. Yes, call me delusional or romantic, but all that really works in this film.
They say that there was a lot of improvisation in the scenes, and they were shot many different ways. I have also seen other films by Gary Marshall and was not impressed at all. This is the only one I liked. I am tempted to believe that the director was helped by the editor or someone like that to polish out what must have started as diamond in the rough.
Again, if you have not seen this film yet (highly unlikely), don't expect some "haute cinema"; but do expect some great fun, and a decent romance mixed together. One must admire the fact that such a fairy tale was made in modern times and that it manages to keep one believing in it. Never was I reminded that I was just watching a film - that's how well put together it is.