Pretty Woman

[Anonymous]

Because Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are so pretty.

Because shopping, yay!

Because what could be wrong with women, even sex workers, being expected to do the work of rehabilitating emotionally stunted capitalists? In a week?

There's a great Merrill Markoe essay on this that offers the following brief review: "It really sucks and it pissed me off." Yup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A great movie and holds up surprisingly well! Not perfectly, but surprisingly well.

I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't want to send the message to my daughter that being saved by a wealthy guy is the way to go. Or that wealthy guys are always middle aged white men.

Great thing that there are movies like this to use as conversation starters, huh?

Coming to America

[Anonymous]

It's so awful. Being saved by a wealthy man you've known for a few days -- one form of prostitution for another. UGH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are so pretty.

Because shopping, yay!

Because what could be wrong with women, even sex workers, being expected to do the work of rehabilitating emotionally stunted capitalists? In a week?

There's a great Merrill Markoe essay on this that offers the following brief review: "It really sucks and it pissed me off." Yup.

What’s it like going through life with such a cynical, unimaginative approach?

Google suspended disbelief. It’s a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A great movie and holds up surprisingly well! Not perfectly, but surprisingly well.

I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't want to send the message to my daughter that being saved by a wealthy guy is the way to go. Or that wealthy guys are always middle aged white men.

Its the other way around she saves him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are so pretty.

Because shopping, yay!

Because what could be wrong with women, even sex workers, being expected to do the work of rehabilitating emotionally stunted capitalists? In a week?

There's a great Merrill Markoe essay on this that offers the following brief review: "It really sucks and it pissed me off." Yup.

What’s it like going through life with such a cynical, unimaginative approach?

Google suspended disbelief. It’s a thing.

You'd have to ask the Hollywood producers who greenlighted this predictable piece of trash. Handsome rich guy chooses to protect his emotions, but a beautiful whore with a heart of gold makes him open his heart! Edgy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A great movie and holds up surprisingly well! Not perfectly, but surprisingly well.

I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't want to send the message to my daughter that being saved by a wealthy guy is the way to go. Or that wealthy guys are always middle aged white men.

Its the other way around she saves him.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because Julia Roberts and Richard Gere are so pretty.

Because shopping, yay!

Because what could be wrong with women, even sex workers, being expected to do the work of rehabilitating emotionally stunted capitalists? In a week?

There's a great Merrill Markoe essay on this that offers the following brief review: "It really sucks and it pissed me off." Yup.

What’s it like going through life with such a cynical, unimaginative approach?

Google suspended disbelief. It’s a thing.

You'd have to ask the Hollywood producers who greenlighted this predictable piece of trash. Handsome rich guy chooses to protect his emotions, but a beautiful whore with a heart of gold makes him open his heart! Edgy!

Whore?

Wow. Talk about misogyny.

[Anonymous]

Um... she is a whore, a prostitute. But I guess since she’s pretty it’s OK and a rich guy will save her. Awful message in that movie and I will not let my daughter watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A great movie and holds up surprisingly well! Not perfectly, but surprisingly well.

I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't want to send the message to my daughter that being saved by a wealthy guy is the way to go. Or that wealthy guys are always middle aged white men.

Its the other way around she saves him.

She also rejects his offer to "save" her because she knows his original offer would be just a different form of prostitution. She walked away from it to build a life for herself, and only takes him back when he comes to her as an equal.

[Anonymous]

Young Julia Robert's at her most charming self. They could have wrapped almost any rom com around her and it would have been a success.

[Anonymous]

I tried to Google the Merrill Markoe article because I love her, but I couldn’t find it. Side note, but everyone should read her book Cool, Calm and Contentious; it’s great.

Yes, Pretty Woman is problematic. But I have other movies that are made even know that are still awful for women. Don’t even get me started on those that don’t pass Bechdel. Also how many movies do I have to watch about war or sports or hobbits/fantasy, ones that are blockbusters that have hardly any real parts or stories about women in them. It gets old.

[Anonymous]

Because some people want to believe it's realistic. DH has a co-worker who blew up his marriage seeing prostitutes. He confided in DH that he "bought into the Pretty Woman idea" that prostitutes were women who liked sex who waited around for men to come and pay them to do what these women wanted to do anyway. My reaction was WTF????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because some people want to believe it's realistic. DH has a co-worker who blew up his marriage seeing prostitutes. He confided in DH that he "bought into the Pretty Woman idea" that prostitutes were women who liked sex who waited around for men to come and pay them to do what these women wanted to do anyway. My reaction was WTF????

If that was the impression he got from Pretty Woman, he wasn’t paying attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um... she is a whore, a prostitute. But I guess since she’s pretty it’s OK and a rich guy will save her. Awful message in that movie and I will not let my daughter watch.

She’s a sex worker, and she’s in control.

And, it’s clear in the film that she has far superior morals than the heartless corporate mogul. That’s why the movie works: it turns assumptions around.

Only a daft person would think the movie is about Gere saving Julia. As if!