Twenty-five years before Lily James shoehorned herself into a princess gown to play “Cinderella,” another up-and-comer donned a differently problematic dress for a romantic fairy tale that also struck box office gold.
That movie was “Pretty Woman.” Julia Roberts played the street-walking Cinderella in a now immortal bikini-dress hybrid that only barely covered her nether regions. But the character’s obliques-baring get-up and street-wise attitude landed her a week-long “date,” if you will, with a Prince Charming in the form of a corporate shark played by Richard Gere.
The movie’s tagline? “She walked off the street, into his life and stole his heart.” Awwww.
“Pretty Woman,” which opened 25 years ago Monday, was not the most impressive cinematic accomplishment of 1990. That would be “Home Alone,” obviously. Or, OK, “Goodfellas.” Garry Marshall’s romantic comedy is riddled with editing errors, gaps in logic and a warped value system: The heroine is a prostitute redeemed by a corporate raider, for crying out loud. But all these years later, it holds up remarkably well, if you can turn off that think-piece portion of your brain. (Is she a feminist icon? Is she only worthy of love when in Rodeo Drive’s finest? Is this just “My Fair Lady” with sex? Just give up already and embrace the absurdity.)
In fact, silly endings aside, “Pretty Woman” is delightful, and that’s thanks, almost entirely, to Roberts. But she is just one of the gifts the movie bestowed on out culture. Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Julia Roberts and her mile-wide smile
Roberts wasn’t a complete nobody when she snagged the role of Vivian the Hollywood hooker. She had made an impression as an impetuous waitress in the small but beloved “Mystic Pizza”; when “Pretty Woman” opened, she was headed to the Oscars with her first nomination in the tear-jerking supporting role of Sally Field’s diabetic daughter in “Steel Magnolias.”
But, at 22, she hadn’t yet headlined a movie and she certainly hadn’t flexed her comedic muscles the way she did in “Pretty Woman.” With her gangly frame and explosive laugh, she blended a wide-eyed earnestness with a knack for physical comedy. After so many subsequent dramatic roles, it’s easy to forget how talented Roberts is at bringing laughs: Her facial expressions are hilarious and well-timed when, for example, she tries to eat a mint leaf garnish or when she flings a snail across a fancy restaurant.
Roberts earned her second Oscar nomination — and second Golden Globe win — for playing Vivian.
2. A brief but glorious golden era of chick flicks
In 1990, “Pretty Woman” raked in $463,406,268 globally, or more than $828 million in today’s terms — the most successful American romantic comedy in history. Its domestic total ($178 million) made it the fourth biggest moneymaker that year, behind “Home Alone,” “Ghost” and “Dances With Wolves.”
The fact that two of the top movies of 1990 were considered lady movies made studio execs sit up and take notice. Hey, women have money, too, and sometimes they want to see movies! (Does this conversation sound familiar?)
“Pretty Woman” was on the front end of a chick flick resurgence that spawned many a rom-com deluxe. Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Kate Hudson and, of course, Julia Roberts stayed very busy during this period, and while the movies weren’t all winners — remember “Kate &Leopold”? — many were very sweet, extremely funny and still entertaining years later. Even Seth Rogen’s college kid character in “Undeclared” loved “You’ve Got Mail.”
There was even a second chance for Roberts and Gere to meet-cute in “Runaway Bride.” But in the past few years, romantic comedies, not to mention women’s movies in general, have been few and far between. Of course, when they appear, they tend to be successful. Speaking of which …
3. “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Look, I know “Fifty Shades” is supposed to be “Twilight” fan fiction, but the similarities between the erotic tale and “Pretty Woman” are striking. In both stories, a man and woman are united by a contract; the man tries to transform the woman by bringing her into his world, while the woman sets about softening the sharp edges of the cold-hearted millionaire. He lavishes her with gifts, including fancy clothes, nice meals, rides on private planes and/or helicopters. Sexy baths ensue, but it’s not enough. She leaves because she wants more than what he has to offer. Except — spoiler! — he ultimately wins her over. Coincidence?
4. Go West
Wait, you don’t remember the British duo that became (briefly) inescapable stateside after their song “King of Wishful Thinking” appeared on the soundtrack?
5. Fashion
There is plenty of conspicuous consumption in “Pretty Woman.” When Edward hands over his credit card to a boutique manager with the promise of spending an “obscene amount of money” on Vivian, the audience is supposed to swoon. We’re about to go shopping!
It’s kind of gross, really, with the shop’s staff fawning over Vivian, but regardless of how you feel about the scene or the dressing room montage that follows, the fashion world took notice of Vivian’s looks both before and after her makeover. In 1991, Versace’s runway was filled with thigh-high boots and short dresses. And polka-dots and hats sprouted up everywhere. In fact, to this day, there are knock-offs of Vivian’s brown, polka-dotted polo dress available online, and her streetwalking attire has been the inspiration for countless ill-advised Halloween costumes.
6. The resurgence of Richard Gere
The 1982 blockbuster “An Officer and a Gentleman” cemented Gere’s leading man image. He may have attempted some diverse roles for known auteurs — Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Cotton Club” — alongside his kinky melodramas (“American Gigolo,” “Looking for Mr. Goodbar”), but really, his name brought to mind the image of a man in uniform, sweeping Debra Winger into his arms.
Then, he practically disappeared — that is, until 1990, which brought him the one-two punch of “Pretty Woman” and the moderately successful thriller “Internal Affairs.” Suddenly the former pretty boy was a silver-fox grown man. The look worked for him, and the prestige roles followed: the haughty defense attorney in “Primal Fear,” the jilted husband of “Unfaithful,” the tap-dancing lawyer of “Chicago,” for which he won a Golden Globe. He was nominated again, just a couple of years ago, once again playing a suave financier in “Arbitrage.”
7. Cover art
Before “Pretty Woman,” posters for romantic comedies featured goofy scenarios that sort of (but not really) summed up the plot of the movie. Think Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell flying through the air next to a ship — her in a fancy dress, him in overalls — for the poster of “Overboard.” Or Andrew McCarthy and a Kim Cattrall-inspired dummy perched on a motorcycle for “Mannequin.” Or this cover art for “Moonstruck,” with Cher doing her best flamingo impression in front of a giant moon and a tiny New York.
After “Pretty Woman” it was all about the two stars. And the lean.
See also the posters for “Failure to Launch” (Matthew McConaughey leaning, Sarah Jessica Parker pushing), “No Reservations” (Catherine Zeta-Jones leaning/turning/shooting a coquettish look at Aaron Eckhart), “The Ugly Truth” (Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl, leaning with a wall between them).
8. Proof of the power of character actors
“Pretty Woman” was Ralph Bellamy’s final role, and an appropriate one given his history in classic screwball comedies. Here, he played the elderly head of a company that Gere is trying to take over. But Bellamy wasn’t the only great actor. Jason Alexander had to do a lot of comedic penance on “Seinfeld” in order to wipe from our memories his performance as a despicable, rapey lawyer. Laura San Giacomo, who went on to star in long-running sitcom “Just Shoot Me,” had some of the best one-liners as Vivian’s hooker pal, Kit. (“Fifty dollars grandpa. For 75 the wife can watch.”) But it’s Hector Elizondo that made the biggest impression. He played the soulful manager of the Regent Beverly Wilshire who served as Vivian’s fairy godmother, transforming her from a scantily clad interloper into a fairy princess who knows the difference between a salad and dinner fork.
9. The line we’re still hoping to use one day on a snippy boutique employee
“You work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge!”
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