Pretty Woman

This movie Pretty Woman (Garry Marshall, 1990) starts off establishing the main characters efficiently. The first scene portrays Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) as a stereotypical “very important” businessman. Some of the first words in the movie are spoken by lawyer Philip Stuckey (Jason Alexander) in reference to Edward by saying “He’s probably off in a corner somewhere charming a very pretty lady.” The next scene shows Edward and his seeming disregard for women’s feelings. These first few minutes reinforce the backdrop of the movie before the rest of the plot even began.

The sex-worker Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) is introduced by a montage of lingerie shots surrounded by cheap makeup, “trashy” clothing and an overall low quality lifestyle, present with its own dangers as depicted by Vivian climbing down

That setting, combined with the roar of the engine and some double entendres, creates an underlying tone of sexuality to follow the rest of the movie.

I couldn’t help but to compare the movie to My Fair Lady (George Cukor, 1964), the Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison classic musical that Pretty Woman shares many of the same elements with. A rich, misogynistic playboy selects a woman living in an impoverished lifestyle and treats her to a socio-cultural paradigm change and eventually ends up falling in love with her.

As Vivian and Edward’s relationship grows, she breaks one of the few occupational rules she set, that is, no kissing on the lips. Vivian considered that to be too meaningful and intimate for a regular client, but as the relationship flourishes, she ends up kissing Edward on the