Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.
The film's story centers on Hollywood escort Vivian Ward and wealthy corporate raider Edward Lewis. Vivian is hired to be Edward's escort for several business and social functions, and their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him. The film's title Pretty Woman is based on the 1964 song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison.
The original screenplay was titled 3000 and was written by then-struggling screenwriter J. F. Lawton. Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and prostitution in Los Angeles, the film was reconceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget. Pretty Woman received mixed reviews from critics upon release, but widespread praise was directed towards Roberts' performance and her chemistry with Gere. It had the highest number of ticket sales in the US ever for a romantic comedy, with Box Office Mojo listing it as the number-one romantic comedy by the highest estimated domestic tickets sold at 42,176,400, slightly ahead of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) at 41,419,500 tickets. The film grossed US$463.4 million worldwide and at the time of its release, was the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, behind only E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($701 million at the time), Star Wars ($530 million at the time), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($474 million at the time), and Jaws ($470 million at the time). It was also the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time (surpassing Rain Man) until it was surpassed by Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991, but remained the highest-grossing R-rated film released by Walt Disney Studios (surpassing Cocktail), holding the record for 34 years until Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed it in 2024.
Pretty Woman catapulted Roberts to superstardom, earning her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, in addition to her first nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film also received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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