Summary
The film opens with a close-up of a man’s hands as he puts coins in two women’s hands, and we hear him say, “Remember ladies, it’s all about money.” Through a sleight of hand, the man demonstrates how someone might lose all their money, as one of the coins that he picks up disappears in his closed fist. In another magic trick, he turns one of the coins into a larger coin, before pulling another coin from the woman’s ear. As the women laugh at the trick, another man, Philip, walks up and asks if anyone has seen Edward. A man nearby says he hasn’t and compliments Philip on the party he is throwing. Philip responds, “Well, my wife went to a lot of trouble. She called a caterer,” shrugging and starting a conversation with another man, Howard, who tells him that he has heard that “Edward is taking over Morse Industries.” It is clear we are on a rooftop in Los Angeles at a business party of some kind. Another man asks after Edward, and Philip tells him that Edward is probably “somewhere charming a very pretty lady.”
Inside, we see Edward on the phone telling someone that he told his secretary to make the arrangements. On the other end, a woman tells Edward that she speaks to his secretary more than him, and “I have my own life too.” Edward is clearly talking to a lover, and his voice softens as he tells her that he needs her with him this week. She resists, insisting that she feels like she always has to be on call, and has no time for her own life. Edward and the woman discuss her potentially moving out. When she tells him they will discuss when he returns to New York, he tells her he would rather talk about it now, and she agrees, angrily hanging up the phone. “Goodbye, Jessica,” says Edward, hanging up the phone with a resigned demeanor, and looking down at the rooftop party through the large windows of the apartment.
Edward walks down the stairs followed by a man, an assistant, who refers to speaking to Phil about a matter, but Edward insists that “Phil is just my lawyer.” Edward asks the man a question about the stock market, and the man responds that he doesn't know the answer, which prompts Edward to tell him to stay on top of it. A few women greet Edward and he smiles before telling the man that he needs everything wrapped up quickly as he has to be back in New York on Sunday because he has tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. As Edward collects his coat to leave, he is greeted by a woman named Susan whom he used to date, and whom he congratulates on her marriage. He then asks Susan if, when they were dating, she felt like she talked to his secretary more than him—as the woman on the phone suggested. Comically enough, Susan tells him that his secretary was one of her bridesmaids. They kiss goodbye. The scene shifts to show Philip talking to a woman, but they are interrupted by a woman who runs over to tell Philip that Edward is leaving the party.
Out at the cars, Edward asks if a car is “Mr. Stuckey’s car,” and Philip runs out to apprehend him. When Philip asks why he is leaving, Edward simply asks Philip for the keys to his car, as his limo service is buried behind a bunch of other cars. Philip tells Edward that he doesn’t think Edward should drive his car, but Edward has already gotten in the car and started it. Philip is worried about Edward driving the car, but Edward speeds off as Philip shouts, “Beverly Hills is down the hill!” and worries that Edward doesn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Thumping pop music plays as we see the car come around a hill, and then from above as Edward finds himself in an unknown parking lot. The song continues as the credits roll. Suddenly we are on Hollywood Boulevard, and we see prostitutes picking up men next to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The camera shows the star of the classic film actress Carole Lombard before quickly shifting to show two prostitutes soliciting men in a car.
The scene shifts again to a seedy looking motel-apartment complex, its lights partially burned out, as we hear the sound of a siren in the distance. Inside, an alarm goes off and we see a woman’s body in lacy lingerie roll over. The camera pans up to arm outstretching and turning off the alarm clock. Photographs with the face of a man ripped out of them are shown in a pile nearby, as different music plays and we see a woman putting on a skimpy top and several bracelets and rings. The shot shifts back to Edward, driving along Hollywood Boulevard, looking confused. Back in the woman’s apartment, we see her coloring in the heel of a high-heeled boot with black marker, and then zipping up the boot. In close-up, we see the woman put mascara on in the mirror. Meanwhile, Edward’s car zips down Hollywood Boulevard.
The woman, decked out for a night of prostitution, goes down the stairs of the motel while a man scolds a tenant for not having rent money ready. At the top of the stairs, the woman bites her lip nervously at the interaction and goes back to her bathroom, where she pulls a few bills out of a small box hidden in the tank of her toilet. She pockets the cash, then escapes her building via the fire escape, while a neighbor watches her. Edward continues to drive, lost. On the street on Hollywood Boulevard, a man rants and raves, asking passerby what there “dream” is, and insisting that “everybody has a dream.” Nearby, a teenager sells drugs to two other teenagers, and the woman walks by looking suspicious. A detective asks the “dream” man what he knows about a prostitute who was killed nearby. The detective shows his badge and says, “We just pulled her out of a dumpster in the back. Who was her pimp?” as the woman rushes past. The “dream” man tells the detective a little more about the prostitute who was murdered, that she prostituted in order to buy crack, and the woman looks at the crime scene, visibly disturbed. A tourist from Orlando snaps photos of the dead prostitute’s body, which exasperates the detective.
Nearby, the woman rushes across a busy street towards a club. Inside, a girl gyrates and paints a mural, and various clubgoers dance. The woman goes up to the bartender—Pops—and asks him if he has seen a woman named Kit. After he directs her upstairs to the pool room, the woman walks up the stairs and finds Kit, who greets the woman as “Vivian.” We learn that Vivian and Kit are roommates, and Vivian confronts Kit about the missing rent money. Vivian has bought drugs and thrown a party with their rent money, which infuriates Vivian, who grabs Kit. A man tells Vivian that Kit owes him an additional $200, and offers for Vivian to sleep with him in order to work off the debt, which only causes Vivian to angrily roll her eyes. Kit grabs Vivian and brings her downstairs, as Vivian continues to scold her for giving away their money. At the bar, Kit grabs some food, and fires back at Vivian, telling her that when Vivian moved to Los Angeles, she gave her “a place to stay, and some valuable vocational advice.” The women continue to fight, and Vivian finally announces that she just saw a dead prostitute in a dumpster, but Kit already knew about it and had in fact known the dead woman; she insists that she was a “flake, a prostitute,” implying that she had it coming.
Outside a house, a man rifles through a pile of garbage bags as Edward drives up and asks for directions to Beverly Hills. Laughing, the man tells him that he is already in Beverly Hills and points to a modest house, saying, “that’s Sylvester Stallone’s house,” and chuckling to himself. On Hollywood Boulevard, Kit talks to another prostitute, named Rachel, and tells her that she is working on her and Vivian’s turf, measuring out the areas that they work based on the movie actors whose stars they stand near. Rachel apologizes, telling them that she was just taking a rest, and pointing out that Vivian is new to the block. Rachel calls Kit a “grouch” and walks away, and Vivian and Kit talk before being interrupted by a customer from a passing car, a young preppy guy in a convertible who asks for a “freebie,” since it’s his birthday. Kit yells back “Dream on!” and the girls wait for customers.
When Kit asks Vivian if they should get a pimp, Vivian says absolutely not, and the prostitutes discuss the fact that a pimp will only take all their money, and that it’s better for them to be free agents. They are interrupted by a Lotus Esprit pulling up, and Kit encourages Vivian to solicit the driver, because he will undoubtedly be a lucrative customer. Vivian saunters up to the car as Kit encourages her to “work it.” In the Lotus Esprit, the driver, Edward, gives himself a pep talk about being able to drive a manual shift vehicle. Vivian peeks in the window, and asks if he is looking for a prostitute, but he responds that he is only looking for directions to Beverly Hills. Vivian agrees, but charges him $5. As he leans forward and suggests that she’s being “ridiculous,” she tells him that the price has gone up to $10. He is indignant, telling her that she cannot charge him for directions, but she insists, “I can do anything I want to, baby. I ain’t lost.” She turns around and folds her arms, her lower back and butt framed by the car window. Edward relents and asks if she has change for a 20. Vivian gets in the passengers seat, telling him that for $20 she will take him to Beverly Hills herself and show him “where the stars live.”
Edward drives down Hollywood Boulevard and Vivian tells him to turn on his car lights and take a right at the next intersection. Vivian compliments his “hot car,” and asks if it’s his, to which Edward responds, “Not exactly.” When he asks her for her name, she responds, “What do you want it to be?” but he doesn’t take the bait, and looks at her wryly. She tells him her name is Vivian, and asks him where he is staying. She directs him towards his hotel. As they continue down the road, Vivian says, about the car, “Man this baby must corner like it’s on rails,” suggesting the car is nice and must be fun to drive. A close shot of Edward’s hand shows him struggling to shift gears, and he asks her how she knows so much about cars, and she tells him she reads Road and Track, a magazine about cars, and that the boys from her hometown, who were very into heavy metal, would buy nice cars that were in disrepair and fix them up. “I paid attention,” she says. She then counters, “How is it you know so little about cars?” and he tells her that his “first car was a limousine.” She then tells him she is from Georgia, before criticizing him for being bad at shifting. When she criticizes him more, he tells her to drive, as it’s “the only way I can get you off my coat.”
In front of a store, Vivian gets in the driver’s seat and tells Edward, “Fasten your seat belt. I am taking you for the ride of your life.” She speeds down the block, and tells Edward that the pedals of the Esprit are close together like a race car, which makes it “probably easier for a woman to drive ‘cause they have little feet.” He looks at her quizzically as she tells him that her feet are actually quite large, and informs him that the human foot is the same size as the length from one’s elbow to one’s wrist. With this bit of trivia, he smiles at her warmly, before asking how much money she makes as a prostitute. Vivian insists that she doesn’t take less than $100 for an hour, which astounds Edward, who cannot believe that a woman with a safety pin holding her boot up rakes in $100 an hour. She insists, however: “I never joke about money.” Edward responds, “Neither do I.” When Edward tells her that $100 an hour is “pretty stiff,” she reaches over and touches his crotch, retorting, “Well no, but it’s got potential.” He looks over at her, bemused.
The car continues into Beverly Hills, and Vivian pulls up alongside the hotel. The valet asks if he will be using the car anymore, to which Edward responds “I hope not,” and Edward and Vivian stand awkwardly beside each other on the sidewalk. Edward asks if she will be alright, and she tells him she’ll take a cab back with the $20 he paid her. “Back to your office,” he says and she laughs at the parallel he makes between a block for prostitution and an office. He thanks her for the ride and she walks away and sits on top of a bench nearby. Edward sees that she isn’t going to take a cab and she tells him, “I like the bus,” as the valet at the hotel looks on in disbelief. After confirming that her rate is $100, he invites her into the hotel with him. He tells her his name, which she tells him is her “favorite name” flirtatiously as they walk into the hotel. As he puts a coat over her shoulders, she asks why he is doing it, and he tells her, “This hotel is not the kind of establishment that rents rooms by the hour.”
Inside, Vivian looks at the lavish lobby in awe, as a number of wealthy patrons look at her judgmentally. Edward tells her to stop fidgeting as he walks up to the front desk and a man lowers his newspaper to see Vivian’s comical outfit in the fancy lobby. Vivian leans against the wall while Edward collects his messages, making eyes at a gawking hotel guest who walks by. Edward orders champagne and strawberries to be sent up to his room, takes Vivian’s waist and escorts her to the elevators. By the elevators, a woman looks Vivian up and down and then at her husband. Vivian takes this as a cue to put her leg up on a nearby ashtray and say mockingly to Edward, “Honey, I’ve got a runner in my pantyhose.” Looking directly at the judgmental woman, she then adds, “I’m not wearing pantyhose!” before getting onto the elevator and lounging on the small sofa inside it. Edward whispers, “First time on an elevator,” to the couple and follows her in. The couple does not follow, and the woman tells her husband, “Close your mouth, dear.”
On the elevator, Vivian tells Edward she couldn’t help acting out, and he asks her to try. The elevator opens on the penthouse suite where Edward is staying. Vivian walks out of the elevator and the elevator attendant watches her, leaning out and grinning. When Edward gives him a look, he retreats back into the elevator and goes back down. Edward opens the door to his suite, struggling to use the key card and complaining, “I miss keys.” They enter the suite and Edward turns on some lights as Vivian marvels at the room. She goes out on the balcony, impressed by the view, and guessing that one could see the ocean from it, but Edward insists that he doesn’t go out there. When Vivian asks why, he tells her he’s afraid of heights, and when she counters that he shouldn’t get the penthouse suite then, he offers that the penthouse is the best, and he cannot find any penthouse apartments on ground level.
Vivian asks what he wants to do with her now that they are in his hotel room, to which he responds that he doesn’t know—he didn’t plan this. She asks him if he always plans everything, and he insists that he does. Contrastingly, she tells him, she’s more of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl,” living moment to moment. She tells him that he could break the ice by paying her, and he apologizes and pulls out his wallet. He hands over the cash as she sits on the desk and slips it into her boot. “You’re on my fax,” he says, motioning to the fact that she’s sitting on his documents. She leans over so he can slide the documents out from under her. Out of her boots Vivian pulls a number of condoms, an assortment of colored ones, and then a gold one, which she calls “the condom of champions.” When Edward stands, Vivian becomes sexually aggressive, thinking he has chosen a condom, but he insists that he just wants to talk. Vivian agrees and starts to make stilted small talk.
When he sits in a chair and puts his feet up on an ottoman, Vivian attempts to sit in his lap and guesses that he is a lawyer, because he has that “sharp, useless look.” He laughs and asks if she has known many lawyers, to which she responds, “I’ve known a lot of everybody.” They are interrupted by the doorbell, and when they both stand, they are standing close together. The champagne has arrived, and Vivian goes to answer the door. The room service man looks at Vivian confused and Edward tells him to put the champagne on the bar. The room service man looks at Vivian for a minute, waiting for his tip, and Vivian asks him what he is looking at. Edward gives him his tip, and Vivian sits and takes off her boots off, asking Edward if he has a wife or a girlfriend. He tells her he has both, but clarifies that he has an ex-wife who lives in Long Island in his “ex-home with his ex-dog” and an ex-girlfriend who is moving out of his apartment. As he is saying this, Vivian chugs her champagne in one gulp. Edward then offers her strawberries, saying “it brings out the flavor in the champagne.” Vivian simply says, “Groovy,” and takes one. Noticing that he is not having any champagne, Vivian asks whether he drinks and he tells her he doesn’t.
Analysis
The start of the movie orients the viewer in the cold, hard world of money and material satisfaction. Edward, a slick, smooth-talking businessman, is the guest of honor at a swanky Los Angeles party, hosted by his lawyer, Philip. The film opens with a shot of a man doing a magic trick with coins for two admiring woman. In the world of the film, money can appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, much like a sleight of hand in a magic trick. Furthermore, it is men who conjure money, and posses it. The opening image positions a man in the middle of two women, who can only watch in awe as he pulls magic tricks before their eyes. Indeed, money is the entire pretext of the party itself. When someone asks Philip if Edward is there, he jokingly infers that Edward is only there for business purposes, not to “get a suntan.” When a guest compliments him on the party, Philip deflects by insisting that it was easy to throw, as his wife just had to call a caterer. In the upper crust of the business world, money is everywhere, and displays of wealth are common.
Edward, the protagonist, is portrayed as being alienated from his personal life by the world of business. When we first meet him, he is trying to conduct a love affair with a woman he lives with as though it were a business transaction. While she insists that she speaks to his receptionist more than to him, he seems mystified, and only interested in being able to conjure her presence on a whim. Corrupted by his own power as a businessman, Edward cannot consider his girlfriend’s needs, and wants to wrap up their interaction succinctly. She asks to talk about it when he returns to New York, but he wants to get it done right then, treating a break-up like a business deal. Disillusioned, he leaves the party abruptly, but not before asking a former beau who happens to be at the party if she felt like she talked to his secretary more than him. Highlighting his utter out-of-touch-ness, the ex-girlfriend tells him that his secretary was one of her bridesmaids. While other people are able to forge intimate personal relationships, Edward is at a total loss, and we get the sense that this is connected to his objective business acumen.
Contrasting with Edward’s high-level corporate alienation is Vivian, an earthy, desperate, but charming prostitute who knows the value of money and of the flashy Lotus Esprit that Edward takes from his lawyer’s driveway. In many ways, Vivian is Edward’s opposite. Rough around the edges, but with a heart of gold, Vivian knows how to drive a stick-shift and has a down-to-earth candor that disarms and immediately wins over Edward. Where he is formal and fancy, she is home-grown and modest. Where he is cynical, she is (surprisingly, for her occupation) wide-eyed and earnest. Where the unlikely pair do connect is over money. While the economic disparity between the two is marked, both are savvy about value, whether that is prostitution or high-level business. Vivian’s savviness and intelligence is what attracts Edward, and keeps his attention. The contrast between their economic situations is stark, however, and the film shows that it is up to Edward to help Vivian climb out of the lower rungs of society.
In spite of the film's relatively serious subject matter, director Garry Marshall establishes the movie as a light-hearted romantic comedy from the start, one in which scrappy characters pursue love and security at all costs. Dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and in moments of tension, thumping and celebratory music from the 80s plays. Edward’s alienation and commitment issues are depicted light-heartedly rather than forebodingly, Vivian’s attitude about sex work is practical and personable, and even the subject of a crackhead prostitute corpse is treated glibly. The seedy edges of the Los Angeles depicted in Pretty Woman are anything but seedy. While Vivian’s roommate spends all their rent money on drugs and a party, the desperation of their situation maintains an almost wholesome tone; the two prostitutes are girlfriends and confidants, first and foremost. The film is non-judgmental and straightforward in its depiction of prostitution, even when Vivian comes across a crime scene where a fellow prostitute has been brutally murdered. The image of the dead prostitute is less a weighted symbol than a signal that encourages Vivian to get out of the prostitution business and into the car of a wealthy benefactor.
While the premise of Pretty Woman follows in the footsteps of stories like Cinderella or George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion—in which a helpless girl is saved by a wealthy suitor—Pretty Woman does not quite paint Vivian as helpless. Hardly traumatized by her work as a prostitute, Vivian is looking for any way to help herself, and when she moved to Los Angeles, she just happened to fall in with the wrong crowd. She can identify the parts of a car from years of studying automobile magazines, and when she takes the wheel of the Esprit, the viewer watches her drive a stick-shift expertly. Vivian’s driving is a metaphor for her savviness, her ability to self-direct, to take control, and to shift gears on a dime. Her position in society, however, has trapped her, and she does not have access to the kinds of cars (metaphorical and literal) that she is so very capable of controlling.
Just as Vivian is bold and self-actualized for a prostitute, Edward is modest and awkward for a businessman. When Vivian asks him why he gets the penthouse suite if he is afraid of heights, he tells her because it’s the best and he can’t find a penthouse on ground level. While Edward has ascended to the top of the economic food chain, he does not really like it so much at the top. His own success gives him vertigo, but he still wants the best that money can buy. In this way, Edward shares with Vivian a certain amount of contradiction and ambivalence about his place in life. The couple is primed for romance, each missing something that the other offers.
