One of the few movies that never gets old is Pretty Woman. No matter how many times you watch it, Gere’s subtle charm, Roberts’ captivating spark, the fantasy, the humor, and the chemistry all touch the same sweet spot. However, it’s astonishing how many outrageous behind-the-scenes turns, casting near-misses, and outright bloopers went unnoticed for decades in a film that is so well-known.
And that “giant blooper” that, for some reason, nobody noticed? We’ll arrive. However, the film you are familiar with was nearly nonexistent.
The movie that eventually became Pretty Woman began as something entirely different. The original script, written by the then-unknown J.F. Lawton, was dark, acerbic, and angry rather than a glossy romantic comedy or fairy tale. The film, 3,000, explored the severity of living on the periphery of Los Angeles, corporate greed, and the unsightly divides between affluent and poor. Vivian was shown as a battered survivor rather than a Cinderella character. Edward was chilly. The conclusion was transactional rather than compassionate.
Disney then took over.
The studio concluded that another brutal drama was unnecessary for Americans. They desired fantasy, romance, and charm—things that were pleasant rather than harsh. The writing changed, became softer, and became more glittering. The end result was the film that became one of the most famous romantic comedies ever produced and made Richard Gere and Julia Roberts famous all over the world.
The casting could have turned out quite differently, which is crazy. Al Pacino was the front-runner for Edward Lewis, which may surprise you. He even had a reading with Julia Roberts. Despite liking the script, Pacino eventually failed. He didn’t explain why. However, Roberts left him speechless.
It seemed obvious that this would be a success. He subsequently acknowledged, “She was amazing.”
Director Gary Marshall felt the same way. Although Roberts was not well-known, her passion was clear.
Gere wasn’t first sold, though. He has no desire to work on a romantic comedy. Years later, he described Edward as weakly drawn and “criminally underwritten.” The role was essentially “a suit and a good haircut,” according to him.
Roberts, however, was not letting him escape.
She scrawled something on a piece of paper during one meeting and slipped it to him across the desk. Gere turned it upside down.
Say “yes,” please.
And he did, without warning.
The camaraderie was so genuine once filming began that it almost jumped off the screen. “I knew the movie would work the moment I walked down a hallway and saw Roberts and Gere alone, standing at opposite ends, silently staring at each other,” director Garry Marshall reportedly recalled. They spoke “three or four times a day” while filming, according to Gere, and they stayed in touch for a long time following.
The actual filming process, however, was not without its amusingly careless moments, such as one of the most glaring continuity mistakes in cinematic history that nearly everyone missed.
Do you recall the situation at breakfast? Vivian begins by consuming a croissant. The croissant then mysteriously transforms into a pancake. The pancake then takes on a different form. The bites then alter. The pancake then turns into a brand-new one once more.
Why? Roberts was eating a pancake that day, and Gary Marshall thought her performance in the later takes was better. So, continuity be damned, they retained it.
There were other costume and prop errors as well.
Consider Vivian’s condoms, which were nicely stacked in one picture, jumbled in another, and then neat again in a third. or what Gere wore to the polo match. He initially dons a half-Windsor knot and a straight-collar shirt. A few minutes later, the tie changes to a full Windsor and his collar mysteriously becomes a spread style. Depending on the view, even the smallest aspects of the clothing changed.
However, the wardrobe was largely a success, particularly Vivian’s famous red opera dress. It represented every aspect of her metamorphosis, including strength, grace, assurance, and elegance. It was described as “sexy without losing a drop of class” by Vogue. Marilyn Vance, the costume designer, made six memorable costumes for Roberts, including the well-known brown-and-white dress with polka dots that she wore to the horse racing. Old silk that Vance discovered in a small, almost abandoned Los Angeles fabric store was used to make that dress. Chanel, of course, the shoes.
Even though Edward’s outfit appeared carefree, it was well thought out. In order to convey a cool, collected power, Vance dressed Gere in a carefully chosen color scheme of browns, blues, and gray-blues. And the tie Vivian steals from the boutique? It wasn’t opulent. It wasn’t noteworthy. It came from a small store in L.A. and cost $48.
The infamous moment of the buying frenzy comes next. Rodeo Drive’s “obscene” spending montage? That trip would have cost at least $30,000 in 1990 dollars, according to Vance. Vivian was being completely reinvented, not merely lavished with attention.
Gere, meanwhile, felt conflicted about Edward Lewis. He once remarked:
“He’s essentially just a suit.”
However, he brought his true self to the movie in one spontaneous scene—the piano moment. Marshall questioned him about his typical hotel nighttime activities. Gere acknowledged that, primarily due to travel lag, he located a piano and played. “All right, let’s use that,” Marshall said to him. Gere took a seat and began to play a melancholic song that mirrored Edward’s inner life. One of the most sexy scenes in the film was created when Roberts reacted and the camera rolled; it was unplanned and unscripted, simply genuine.
Off-screen, Roberts and Gere’s chemistry continued to develop. They were infatuated, laughing together on set, talking nonstop, and developing a relationship that helped the movie succeed. She couldn’t fathom anyone else playing Edward, so she “begged” him to do it, according to Roberts.
She made a wise decision because it would be impossible to imagine Pretty Woman without Gere and Roberts.
And that’s what makes the film magical. It wasn’t flawless; last-minute casting choices, improvised scenes, bloopers, continuity mistakes, and Disney-mandated rewrites made for an untidy yet captivating film. The final film is the product of pure luck, compromises, accidents, and instincts.
But in some way, everything came together to create a timeless tale that continues to captivate people to this day.
Although Pretty Woman isn’t perfect, that’s precisely what makes it so memorable.