Saturday 2 December 2023

Pretty Woman (1990 Garry Marshall)

Julia Roberts was on Graham, you see (for the first time), and she revealed that after the film was commissioned with J.F. Lawton's original darker script it then fell apart - only to be picked up again by Disney. When Marshall came on to the project he said they were going to considerably brighten it up and make it funny - which sounded like Marshall himself rewrote it. But as well as that he would sometimes say to the actors "now you say something funny and you say something funny back", and when you watch the film with that in mind, you can see scenes where this is indeed what might be happening, a sort of 'make it up as you go along' experience (indeed on some days they had to stop filming until new script pages were ready). You are left with the occasional dark stuff in the background - a tarnished modern love story.

It's ineffable rubbish, in a way, but so professionally put together and acted that you just can't deny it.

And as I'm sure I say every time, it's Hector Elizondo's finest hour.



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