Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, is a movie about a billionaire who never gives his girlfriends enough of his time to form a lasting relationship. After his latest breakup, he meets poor hooker Vivian, and a prince-Cinderella relationship forms. The movie is directed by Garry Marshall, and features supporting actor Hector Elizando who helps Edward mentor Vivian (a role he reprises in The Princess Diaries)

It is a dark movie, as prostitution is not a light subject. Vivian and her hooker roommate live and work in Beverly Hills, a place where many young people come to find their dreams. They are trying to hold on to a shred of autonomy ("We say who, we say when, we say how much") instead of having a pimp run their lives, and they are portrayed as unselfishly (if erratically) supportive toward each other.

The movie begins in Los Angeles with a party of (white) jet-setters, where Edward breaks up by phone with his New York girlfriend. He borrows his lawyer's car and picks up Vivian in a meet cute where he stops to ask for directions. In his own element, he starts teaching her how to act in upper-class society, draping his coat around her so her garish street clothes won't stand out. Other little things he teaches her include: not calling attention to herself when entering an elevator; the fact that bellboys want to be tipped; the idea that strawberries go well with champagne.

Problems with the movie

The movie fails to reveal how degrading prostitution is, with the story portraying casual sex and serial dating as options equally as valid as marriage.