Pretty Woman Essay

Pretty Woman is a romantic comedy, which is based on the stories of Cinderella, the Prince and the Pauper and My fair lady. The film was produced in 1990 and directed by Garry Marshall. It is set in the Hollywood hills and the rough Hollywood Boulevard. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts play the two main characters, Vivien Ward and Edward Lewis. Edward is a wealthy man who is respected and admired by others. Whereas Vivien is a lot poorer. Her only way of earning money is by her job as a prostitute in Hollywood Boulevard. In the film the music is very important. At the beginning it is set at a party. It is Edward’s party so it is very posh and classy. All throughout the party scenes there is piano music being played in the background. This shows that Edward and his friends are very sophisticated. The music changes though when Edward is in his car driving through the Hollywood hills down into the Hollywood Boulevard. It turns into a more upbeat song it’s lyrics include ‘I’ll get over you,’ this is a signifier because it links in with the fact that he has just broken up with his girlfriend. When the shot moves to Vivien in her bedroom the music changes again, it changes to a louder, heavier song called ‘Wild women do’ which matches Vivien’s character as a prostitute living in the rough part of the Hollywood Boulevard where she lives life wildly. Just from this you can see a contrast between Vivien and Edward straight away. The costumes that the two main characters wear are very different. At the party at the beginning of the film, Edward and all of his friends are wearing very posh expensive clothes probably made by famous designers. The people are wearing clothes that have quite a bright colour like red or blue and most of them are just wearing one colour. They are also wearing lots of expensive jewellery like gold necklaces, bracelets, rings etc. Just by looking at the people at the party you can tell straight away that they have lots of money and can afford to buy expensive clothes and jewellery for parties. When you first see Edward he is upstairs in his office away from the party. The walls in his office are just plain white with not a lot of decoration and he is wearing a plain grey suit which is quite dull and lifeless this is a signifier that he is a businessman and that he doesn’t like to wear bright colourful clothes and that he prefers to stay wearing neutral colours.