"Pretty Woman" (1990)

[GoogaMooga]

"Pretty Woman" from 1990 was a huge box office success back then, and is one of the most revived films on Danish TV. It made Julia Roberts' career and she is just about the only good ting about the film. She does her darndest to add a little zaniness to a rather rigid rom com, and clearly outperforms Richard Gere, the gentlemanly millionaire businessman who sleepwalks through the film. Gere is best in something like "Internal Affairs", where he plays a corrupt cop. Perhaps he is meant to be the straight man to Roberts' wildcat street girl persona, but she can't really bounce off of him, and halfway through the film, I simply gave up. You may care about Roberts, but Gere lacks edge, and his best line about spending an "obscene amount of money" is almost wasted on him. Ultimately, I don't really care how this modern day Cinderella story ends, for the film does not really position itself in any way that keeps me engaged. Whether Roberts returns to Hollywood Boulevard, or whether they live happily ever after, who cares? Either ending is fine, because this film doesn't really matter in any meaningful way, not as comedy, not as allegory, it's just Julia Roberts' trip.