The film starts with Edward Lewis who is a successful businessman in Beverley hills at a party. The first words we hear from a businessman at the party is 'It's all about the money' and this sets a common theme throughout the film. Edward Lewis played by Richard Gere, borrows his friends very expensive car to escape from a party but doesn't know how to drive it. Meanwhile another scene occurs where we see Julia Roberts getting ready for a night working on the streets, we see her colour in the scratches on her long high knee boots and apply red lipstick to her already well made up face and then put on a short bobbed wig. She leaves the house down the shaft outside hiding from her landlord who is asking occupiers for money, showing that she's a little bit wild living life on the edge and isnt able to pay her bills. A man is seen walking down Hollywood Boulevard asking people 'What's your dream?' as this is what the world sees Hollywood as, as a place where dreams can come true.
We next see Vivian go down to a local bar where she confronts her friend Kit, a small petite cute character who is also a prostitute, for spending their rent money on drugs. Kit's character is vulnerable, you can tell that she wants to do good but she's been in this business for years and knows no different. Vivian's shows responsibility here as she knows they have responsibilities and you see her get frustrated with Kit. They head down to their spot and work the street and are talking about possible punters, this is when I first heard the phrase, 'we say who, we say when, we say how much'. This shows that they respect and look out for each other but also that they're trying to take control of a bad situation.
Unknowingly Edward Lewis then pulls over right next to their spot to figure out how to use the contraption and this is when we see the beautiful Julia Roberts strut her stuff up to his car, flashing her mid-drift and long slim legs in the high knee pvc boots. Her outfit is obvious and makeup is also quite typical for her character as she has a dusky blue eyeshadow on with bright red lips. Red is at this point symbolizing sex and lust and is seen by many if worn in a certain way as cheap and almost slutty,She asks if he's looking for company and he asks her for directions, haggling with him they decide that she will show him the way for $20. At this moment you feel sorry for Edward as he's struggling to drive the car and in the end Vivian takes over 'showing him what the car can really do.' I found in this moment that the roles had been completely reversed, there was Edward an extremely wealthy man driving this amazing looking car with Vivian who was in fact a prostitute showing him how to use the car showing off her knowledge and Edward quite clearly didn't know or understand. It's like Vivian was showing him about his world and knew more about his world than he did!
They reach their destination which is the an expensive Beverley Hills hotel and he says thankyou and Vivian's short period of fun was over. She sits waiting for the bus to go and looks extremely vulnerable once again as she did on her corner which says to me that she really didn't think that he life would be like this. He asks her if she would like to come up for an hour, the camera angle shows her sitting on a bench with her back turned to Edward who looks very smart in his expensive suit standing behind her, this is showing their differences in social standing and excepting his offer they head upstairs to the penthouse suite. In the lift on purpose she teases the guests who are all gawking at her outfit and makeup choices by sitting in a specific manner on purpose showing that she knows what her stereotype is so she's going to act like that anyway and make it a show.
As they head into the room Edward puts the automatic key into the lock and says 'oh, I miss keys' I've always picked up on this moment as there is no real obvious reason why this was put into the movie as we see a close up of his hand. I came to the conclusion that it was maybe to show how times have moved on and that Edward is quite old fashioned and likes simple things although he is very wealthy shown previously when he doesn't know how to drive the expensive car. Vivian is amazed at the suite and soon they get to talking. Edward makes it clear that he would rather talk first which you can tell Vivian finds quite strange as he has asked her up presumably for one thing and they end up watching tv. In this scene Vivian is seen lying on her front on the floor eating snacks kicking her legs up behind her like a little kid laughing at the TV, this moment shows her innocence and that she is not the obvious stereotype, he smiles at her and laughs too. I think at this moment she realizes what she's there for and is uncomfortable being so vulnerable and open around him and so gets up to seduce him and do what she knows to do. Vivian mentions that she 'doesn't kiss on the mouth' showing that she doesnt like to get too friendly or too attached to people and he replies saying he doesn't like to either. Edward is quite closed off and vulnerable admitting that he never had a relationship with his father for how he treated his mother years before and how he had recently passed away. Edward admitted he had taken over a company of which his father was president and sold it on piece by piece almost as if he was gaining revenge upon him. They're very similar characters at this point both not wanting to show much vulnerability or any feeling whatsoever telling the audience that they've been hurt before and are not willing to open up again.
Vivian ends up staying the night and you see the real her without the charade with her hair down and curly, white nightdress on sleeping on the bed as Edward walks in and smiles when he sees her sleeping. Her innocence is amplified by the fact that she's stripped of her worries and her false outer appearance and that underneath all of that she's just another woman with the same worries and aspirations for love that every woman has. The next day Edward asks Vivian to stay the week for $3000 which she accepts astounded and next surprises Vivian by giving her his card to go shopping, but everywhere she goes she gets refused and sent away because of the way she looks. I felt really sorry for Vivian as she seeks advice from the hotel manager who looks out for her as like a protective father figure and calls a high end store to arrange for Vivian to go for a dress fitting saying that she is the 'niece of a very important guest' making her feel special comforting her.
In the next scene Vivian meets Edward in the lobby to attend a dinner with him as his guest and the camera zooms out to capture her sitting at the bar and as she turns around to the sound of romantic music played by a pianist Edward looks stunned and we see a close up of his face as her admires her beauty.At the dinner Vivian tries to impress Edwards business partners but fails to and it's here that we see the comedic side to the film as Vivian nibbles on the mint leaves in her ice-cream!
As the week goes on Vivian and Edward's relationship develops as he he takes her out shopping with him spoiling her and her fashion becomes more elegant with the use of hats, long gloves, pearls and tailored dresses. The use of red appears in her new wardrobe but is now used as a symbol for wealth instead of sex and love, showing how social stature can unfortunately affect the way the world views you. This is seen again when Vivian goes into a shop where she was refused service the day before when she was dressed in her old clothes, The woman addresses her as if she had never seen her before just taking into account that she looked wealthy and when Vivian asks if she remembers her from the day before she says no. There is a triumphant feeling for Vivian and also the audience when she reveals that she was in fact the woman that was refused service and that they've made a huge mistake, you feel happy and elated that she's finally had the chance to stick up for herself and an underlying message that you should never judge a book by its cover becomes apparent to the audience. The soundtrack to the movie then plays (Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison) as Vivian walks from shop to shop showing her new found confidence, you can see that Vivian likes the feeling that she's now seen as somebody which I found liberating to watch but at the same time quite sad because all it took was for her to wear different clothes and people started treating her with respect.
Later that week they attend an event where you see Edward's lawyer, Philip Stuckey played by Jason Alexander whom Edward has told that Vivian is in fact a 'hooker'. He confronts Vivian bringing her back to reality that she is and you can see that the past week for her has made her forget about her previous life.
Vivian's makeup is kept quite simple at this stage of the film showing her natural beauty and how she has blossomed into an elegant lady but also just underlining the fact that she has always been beautiful she just needed to believe in herself and not let what other people said or did affect the way she views herself.
The week comes to an end and you see how they have both developed strong feelings for each other and have changed in many ways although at the start they are very similar. Mr Lewis makes a thoughtful business decision by deciding to do the right thing by not taking over a failing family company and selling it on piece by piece. You can see that Edward has let Vivian in and has made him a better person and by making this decision it's his way of saying that he forgives his father and when James Morse played by Ralph Bellamy touches his arm in forgiveness and says 'I'm proud of ya' Edward appears to have finally found his peace with his dad viewing this as the last hurdle to letting the past go.
The last day comes and they say their goodbyes although they know they don't want to and you see Edward struggling with the fact that shes leaving. Vivian says goodbye to the hotel manager who has been her protector throughout shaping her into the elegant lady she has become. The appropriate soundtrack 'It must have been love' by Roxette plays as she leaves and we see Vivian packing her stuff to leave and make a better life for herself in San Francisco and we here the same audio motif from Vivian: Kit 'take care of you'. Another lesson and moral meaning behind the film that you should always take care of you.
Edward turns up as she gets ready to leave appearing in a white limo as if he were a knight on a white horse coming to save her as she always said she wanted and the happy ending is complete as the passionate end kiss happens!
To finish the film the same man that we see at the beginning of the film asking people 'what are your dreams' ends the film with an obvious message saying 'this is Hollywood, the land of dreams, some come true, some dont but keep on dreaming.' At this point I came to the conclusion that the film for me was all about childhood dreams such as Cinderella for example who was a common slave in her own home and dreamt of becoming somebody and became a princess. Another message I got was the feeling of believing in yourself no matter what what your status, anything is possible and that love conquers all!
I love the message that this film displays as it's so relevant in every aspect of everybody's life, and has an ending that entices hope for the audience so that they ask themselves what are my dreams?
image reference : http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/150319131832-01julia-roberts-super-169.jpg
image 2 : https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/68/35/df/6835df18b91ef1d81a569055c0dd95dd.jpg
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