Great Fun

Rating: 8/10 (13 February 2009)

Pretty Woman (1990)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
A billionaire (Richard Gere) gets lost on his way to Beverly Hills and asks a prostitute (Julia Roberts) for directions. They spend the night together and then the hooker gets a business offer: spend the week with him for $3,000. While the deal starts off simply as a business one it slowly starts to change when they begin to have feelings for one another. This film will always have a nostalgic place in my heart as it was one of the first movies I watched by myself at the theater. I must have been somewhere over ten-years-old and I think I ended up watching this thing five times. It's been at least a decade since I last watched it and I'm happy that the film really lived up to my fond memories of it. It's somewhat strange watching the movie today knowing that Roberts turned into a major star because there was something special seeing her character back when it was just a character being played by a rather unknown actress. She certainly has the charm and smile that makes this film work so well. Another key is that the movie, even though it deals with hookers, is very innocent in nature. The film has an innocent charm running through it where it comes off like a fairy tale more than anything else. The film has a very good soundtrack, which is another plus as is Marshall's direction, which manages to handle the comedy and some of the more dramatic moments very well. The real key though are the performances by Gere and Roberts. The two have wonderful charm together and you can't help but believe them in both of their roles. Gere was certainly made to play a role like this as he certainly has the looks that women want but he also has the charm. The charm he brings to his character is what really stands out. Roberts also has that charm and seeing the two of them work together certainly is magic. It's also nice seeing Ralph Bellamy in his few scenes. I think the final act could have been trimmed by several minutes since we know what's going to happen but other than that this is a highly entertaining and charming film.