A Movie That Defined the Melodrama Genre for Years to Come
This is a classic romantic comedy about the love between a financial tycoon (Gere) and a spirited but deeply vulnerable prostitute (Roberts). “Pretty Woman” sparked a small revolution in cinema. Director Garry Marshall revamped the age-old melodramatic plot of a wealthy man and a prostitute, a theme explored in world literature from “La Dame aux Camélias” to “The Owl and the Pussycat.” As a result, the genre was successfully refreshed: Marshall rid it of excessive sentimentality and stiltedness, added social commentary, but maintained its vibrancy and color.
Ultimately, he found the perfect tone for a new generation of love stories – moderately ironic, not tearful, but not overly cynical either. Copying this approach in melodramas, turning them into “melodramatic comedies,” became the standard.
The problem is that Marshall’s formula, replicated countless times later, became tiresome – his followers clearly lacked both a sense of style and the same level of boldness. After this film, Julia Roberts established herself for years as the leading actress for “women’s” films. And television acquired the perfect repertoire for International Women’s Day – just as New Year’s Eve is unimaginable without “The Irony of Fate,” so too is a showing of “Pretty Woman,” along with mimosas, an essential part of the March 8th program.