“Pretty Woman” is 25 years old, can you believe it?
“Pretty Woman” is still one of my favorite romantic comedies, one of those movies that I basically watch everytime is on tv, and I think I’m not the only one, right? When there’s nothing interesting on tv it saves our night and while sometimes we just think “I only watch 5 minutes” we end up watching the whole film.
For a woman, “Pretty Woman” has it all. The handsome and rich male protagonist (and he’s not kinky! Any reference to a certain Mr Grey is not casual), the female protagonist who deserves a better life, beautiful clothes, some touching moments (I always cry when Vivian goes back home with “It Must have Been Love” by Roxette as background music) and a happy ending. At the end of the day, we love fairy tales.And since fairy tales are supposed to teach us something, this is what I learnt from “Pretty Woman”.
Call it destiny, fate, karma or whatever you like, being in the right place at the right time is crucial, and it’s not something that happens only in movies.
Being beautiful is important (it’s undeniable) but being nice and funny makes the difference. Vivian is a beautiful girl but she strikes Edward because she amazes him.
Some shop assistants evidently didn’t watch the film or did’t learn the lesson. I think we all remember the scene when Vivian goes shopping in Rodeo Drive and she’s treated bad because of the way she looks. I think that probably it happened (at least once) to some of us. You enter a store and shop assistants look at you wondering if you can afford its goods. IT HAPPENED TO OPRAH, TOO, do you remember? So, be kind with people, apart from how they’re dressed.
Every woman should have a beautiful red gown.
Since the first time I saw “Pretty Woman” I’ve been desiring a red gown, like the one Vivian wears to go to the opera. And a gorgeous precious necklace. By the way, who catches a (private) plane for the first time wearing an evening gown? This probably only happens in movies.
That gorgeous necklace was custom-made for the movie by French jeweler Fred Joaillier (among his clients there were actresses like Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly).
The red gown wasn’t supposed to be red but black. Since costume designer Marilyn Vance really wanted it to be red she eventually convinced everybody that she was right. And she really was!
Vance also designed the costumes of iconic film from the 80’s like “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink”.
Except for a couple of accessories, like the Chanel shoes Vivian wears for the polo match scene, and the patent boots, ordered from an english shop, every piece of Julia/Vivian’s wardrobe was custom-made for the film.
Give opera a chance. Opera is often seen as something for old people, in fact most of the audience is very old. Nobody knows why, because opera wasn’t born to appeal grandparents (let’s use this term).
Composer like Mozart and Donizetti were very young when they wrote their masterpieces and going to the theater was something very popular in the last centuries, not exclusive at all.
I like opera, sometimes it’s the only type of music I want to listen to (while sometimes I only want to listen to rock or pop, it depends on my mood).
“La Traviata” is about a prostitute who falls in love with a man and decides to changes her life but their relationship is prevented by his family. The plot was inspired by “The Lady of the Camellias” written by Alexandre Dumas (son) and published in 1848. I think it’s the perfect opera to approach opera, because it’s about love and human feelings.
“The bad stuff is easier to believe”. This is a line Vivian says to Edward. And it’s so true.
Let’s talk about thigh high boots. I told a friend, just few weeks ago, that I like them but, even if they’re basically a must-have for every shoe lover, I’ve always had the idea that in the wrong hands/feet they can look really tacky. I mean, I see a pair of thigh high boots with high heels and I can’t help but asking myself “beautiful or Hollywood Boulevard by night?”. Am I the only one? Anyway, I’m still looking for the perfect (affordable) pair.
Without the manager of the hotel, Barney Thompson, Vivian and Edward couldn’t end up together. She had no mobile, socials didn’t exist at that time so Barney is like the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, he’s on screen only for few minutes but he’s fundamental for the story.
Even if I never tried, sometimes I still wonder if strawberries really enhance the flavor of champagne. This is silly, I know, but I’d really like to try.
In the era of sequel, prequel and spin-off, we will never know what happened to Vivian and Edward. Do they live in a penthouse, even if he’s afraid of heights, or in a townhouse in the Upper East Side? Did they ever meet one of Vivian’s clients? How does Vivian’s closet look like?
Julia Roberts often stated that she never considered a sequel of “Pretty Woman”. I think Richard Gere would have never considered a sequel, either, since he doesn’t consider “Pretty Woman” a really good film, but just “a silly romantic comedy”. He also claimed that the movie made “those [Wall Street] guys seem dashing, which was so wrong.”
At the end of the day, we all like to think that it ended like all fairy tales do… They lived happily ever after.
And do you know what? They were not even supposed to! “Pretty Woman” was conceived as a dramatic movie about prostitution and both Vivian and Edward should have been unpleasant people with bad tempers!
I think we’re all thankful about the drastic change of direction!
At the end of the day, we all like to think that it ended like all fairy tales do… They lived happily ever after.
And do you know what? They were not even supposed to! “Pretty Woman” was conceived as a dramatic movie about prostitution and both Vivian and Edward should have been unpleasant people with bad tempers!
I think we’re all thankful about the drastic change of direction!
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