Pretty Woman [Blu-ray]

This is not so much a Cinderella story, as it is variation of My Fair Lady. The movie follows rich playboy Edward Lewis (played by Richard Gere) and his sidekick Philip (played by Jason Alexander) as Edward becomes enchanted by prostitute Vivian Ward (played by Julia Roberts). I had never seen the film before, though I did know what it is about. This is the chick flick of all chick flicks. A moral prostitute (something that never really rings true in the movie) who doesn't know which fork to use, must be coached and dressed to be presented into high society. The thought occurs that Edward might have a problem having a girlfriend that makes her living sleeping with other men, but it doesn't seem to bother him very much, you can just imagine them arguing about this two years later though. The movie works best when Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are on the screen together, they do have certain chemistry. In my opinion Richard Gere acts the pants off of everyone else around, and Jason Alexander seems miscast as the slightly creepy guy friend. Jason Alexander doesn't really project the dark side needed for this part (check his performance as Duckman which is now out on DVD to see him shine). Julia Roberts makes a valiant attempt at a part that was probably difficult to pull off anyway, and she is much more believable as a well dressed lady on Gere's arm, than she is as a prostitute. Laura San Giacomo does a good job of playing Julia's sidekick and holds her own quite well. In fact a lot of the small parts are very well cast and acted, and this helps the movie to hold together.

The movie was directed by Garry Marshall, who is not exactly known for being subtle, and it is done in a work-like way, though the script does have some nice touches here and there. The orchestral score, by James Howard, works well and adds a lot to the movie. He recently did the score for The Dark Knight. Don't believe the hype that this is the end-all of all love stories, it isn't that good. This is cotton candy, but as cotton candy it is okay, and Julie Roberts looks great in this movie (though her character never blooms into a believable person).

The Blu-ray looks very good, and the soundtrack is crisp and clear. If you are a fan of Pretty Woman (or if you have never seen it), and the last time you saw it was on a VHS, this would be a good time to update it. The bonuses include a blooper real, "Live from the Warp Party", a production featurette, and an audio commentary by the director. The video is in high definition, and the audio is in uncompressed 5.1 (48 kHz/24 bit) along with an alternate French or Spanish soundtrack.