Pretty Woman
It's on cable tonight, so I was going back and forth between it and something else, mostly watching Pretty Woman though. There might be some of you reading this who weren't born when this movie came out; definitely some of you who were just little kids. 1990 was the same year I started college, and this came out on video later the same year it came out in theaters. There were two girls on the floor of my dorm, roommates who had apparently known each other since grade school, also freshmen, who loved this movie so much that they watched it on their VCR just about every day. In fact, they hosted viewing parties; all you had to do was knock and walk in, and sit down at whatever point in the movie they were on. And if they weren't watching and didn't have homework to do, they'd pop it in and watch with you. I remember one time that half the floor were in there watching. (I don't know if all co-ed schools' dorms are all coed these days, but this was at a time when only one of the five dorms on this campus was coed; mine was all-female.)
I liked this movie in 1990. I've never been able to decide, though, if it's one of the better movies made, or one of the worst. I am amused that Edward is basically the good guy in this ... but his job is being Mitt Romney, essentially. He's a vulture capitalist, buying up companies and selling them off in portions. (If you aren't aware, a lot of the villains in 80s "business" movies did this, and the heroes were those struggling to keep their companies out of their clutches.) I still kind of like it, mainly for Julia Roberts's performance. It wasn't her first role, but it was the breakout that made her a star - for good reason. The movie is full of people who were either stars then or are household names now, but she is clearly the chief personality and manages it pretty well despite being only 23.
Given the hunger in Hollywood to remake successful older movies, I'm kind of surprised Pretty Woman hasn't been remade ... and kind of not. I'm not sure it would play as well with contemporary sensibilities. I'm curious to know what you think.
I liked this movie in 1990. I've never been able to decide, though, if it's one of the better movies made, or one of the worst. I am amused that Edward is basically the good guy in this ... but his job is being Mitt Romney, essentially. He's a vulture capitalist, buying up companies and selling them off in portions. (If you aren't aware, a lot of the villains in 80s "business" movies did this, and the heroes were those struggling to keep their companies out of their clutches.) I still kind of like it, mainly for Julia Roberts's performance. It wasn't her first role, but it was the breakout that made her a star - for good reason. The movie is full of people who were either stars then or are household names now, but she is clearly the chief personality and manages it pretty well despite being only 23.
Given the hunger in Hollywood to remake successful older movies, I'm kind of surprised Pretty Woman hasn't been remade ... and kind of not. I'm not sure it would play as well with contemporary sensibilities. I'm curious to know what you think.