Shallow and morally corrupt fluff

Rating: 5/10 (13 April 2002)

On one level, I enjoy "Pretty Woman". While I'm not particularly a big fan of Richard Gere or [the very overrated] Julia Roberts, their chemistry in the film is great, and the film works as a decent romantic comedy on a superficial level.
But I just can't get beyond how morrally bankrupt this film is. Characteristic of Hollywood, the much more cynical original incarnation of the script (titled "3000") attempted to really look into the our seedy values behind money and prostitution. The fact that director Garry Marshall would take such material and twist it into hollywood shlock is therefore quite depressing. The worst part is that you can still see small remnants of the films roots (especially the beginning) which has been bleached out as much as possible.
What is this film really saying? It seems like greed, not love is the real answer (the scene where Roberts gets the gift of the Credit Card makes me want to vomit).
In summary, there are a lot of appealing elements on the surface of "Pretty Woman", but the underlying subject matter is disturbing and contradictory to the film's message. While I personally think this film deserves a 1, I'll give it a 5 in a nod to all you people out there who care only about how "cute" Richard and Julia look together in this movie.
For a real romantic comedy from this period, see "Sleepless in Seattle" instead.