Ok, let's begin the not so easy journey ahead in order to update the comments about the movies that I've seen on the last few days.
On what seems now a long time ago I've decided to stay with a Pretty Woman rerun on cable. The scenario was one that you're probably are familiar by now: a busy day, I was too tired for risking a new film... and so Julia Roberts, Richard Gere and Roy Orbison kept me awake, as always, in front of the TV.
I've seen this movie so many times, I lost the count. But I remember the first one, on a movie theater, when I was 20. At the time, I already had a decent job, but was trying to get a new placement.. So I was studying to get a job as a court clerk in a different place. This kind of selection can be tough, and so I was studying a lot, altogether with my classes on College. At this particular day, I decided to see Pretty Woman on the cinema, and my memory is about me, coming back from the screening, heading to the shorthand training, thinking about what I've just seen.
I remember walking on the street, under the trees, heading to my class, in a state of enchantment. I had enjoyed the movie a lot, and had with me an amazing feeling during a time of mostly hard work.
Another memory regarding the movie is from a few days after. I was at a nice cafe (the first one in my city, if you can believe it), surrounded by people from college and journalists and intellectuals - the usual customers of that place - when I heard a girl on the table near me trying to explain why she had enjoyed Pretty Woman so much - after all, it was not a cult movie, but a commercial sort of fairy tale film. Her argument was that Pretty Woman is a modern fable. She was so assured of her opinion, it was funny to see. She couldn't just like it, she had to justify why. What a waste of a good time, I thought then. I know, I know it is judgemental, but it was really painful to witness that kind of attempt.
The thing is, one can pinpoint many tricky aspects about this movie - how a woman is depicted is one of them. How romanticized prostitution is can be other. And we can go on an on. I don't discard any of it, actually - important debates can come from this film. However - and it is in fact a big but -, it is a well told story with a strong female protagonist that stays with us for a while. It is a fairy tale, indeed - and, for me, one well constructed. The darkest aspects of the life on streets are hinted in a few scenes, specially at the beginning. But what stays with us is that sense of enchantment that I've talked about before.One that can still be presented even if Pretty Woman is a very different movie now than it was 25 years ago. Its star are also different, no doubt. But the movie remained the same in some aspects. It is still enjoyable, a bit silly, and, most of all, a big source of memories of the time when it was a big hit.
Nice to meet it again, along with many good memories.
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| Together to celebrate Pretty Woman's 25th anniversary |
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| Pretty Woman. Directed by Gary Marshall. With Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Jason Alexander. Writer: J. F. Lawton. USA, 1990, 119 min., Dolby, Color (Cable). |
Ugh. My feels. It's a timeless tale, for sure. And a fairy tale, indeed. It's admirable how it takes the chance (and the risk) to speak a lot about female empowerment. Not only the main character is a woman, she's also a hooker. So much prejudice to overcome in a short time frame! And it does it justice. Who could ever forget the scene where she returns to the store, looking all classy with a handful of shopping bags, and talks down to the saleswoman who refused to service her? But it's also about love overcoming obstacles, and that makes it a contemporary fairy tale. What makes it such a special one is the charisma in Gere's and Robert's characters. They're both to fall in love with.
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