Pretty Good, Pretty Bad, Pretty Woman

Vivian is standing in that poured-on long red dress, with upswept hair, twinkly eyes and enormous Julia Roberts smile. Edward approaches, spiffy in a tux with a black bow tie, twinkly eyes and smug Richard Gere smile. He extends his arms and opens a jewelry box. With her white glove-enswathed arms, she moves to reach the sparkling diamonds and rubies inside. He snaps the box shut; she laughs. You can hear it. Roy Orbison croons “Pretty woman, walking down the street....” Even if you’ve not seen it, you know about the movie “Pretty Woman.” Millions saw it in theaters, millions more have seen it in the past decades, it remains a fun and popular favorite.

As with the leading actors, the supporting roles are well cast and well performed. Barney, the kindhearted hotel manager who takes Vivian under his wing, and his cohort Bridget. Both the snobby and the attentive shop attendants. The nice old man. The slimy lawyer. The waiter who discretely nabs the flying escargot, hardly moving a facial muscle.

The clothes are classic. The minidress with a skimpy top covered by his Oxford shirt before her Rodeo Drive transformation into the smooth cream dress with black buttons, expertly accessorized with a charming black hat, bag and shoes. The knockout black velvet dress at the hotel bar. The brown and white polka dots at the polo game, whoop whoop whoop.

The movie has a lot of Old Hollywood touches. The stars. The glamour. The locations. The costumes. The cars. The witty snippets. The budding romance. The plot. Yes, that plot.

It’s a Cinderella story with a twist. Instead of working hard cleaning chimneys and catering to evil stepsisters, she’s a working girl and catering to evil johns. In this case, he’s a wealthy one. A poor little rich boy who doesn’t know how to love. Yet we should feel sorry for him and his millions, and not the empathetic victim who tries to help him? Why is that?

With prostitution, it’s often not the guilty men who are caught and shamed. It’s the women who suffer. The so-called world’s oldest profession is somehow glorified in this movie. Has the appeal of this lifestyle led any young people astray? Given false hopes? Vivian and her friend Kit would prefer a step up in life, maybe through job training or schooling, at least a life free from pimps. They might have taken more respectful yet lower-paying jobs at big box stores or fast food joints. That’s definitely not as attractive, but in the movies, that seemed to work out well in “Coming To America.”

As for the young girls watching stunning, smiling, laughing Vivian having all her dreams come true, do parents or guardians take the time to sit their children down and tell them what’s behind the ruse? “Pretty Woman” hides an ugly reality.

__

Public Service Announcement: If you or someone you know wants to leave prostitution or commercial sexual exploitation, confidential help is available right now. You can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text "HELP" or "INFO" to 233733 (available 24/7, free, and completely discreet).

---

Story created for the Vocal Challenge: The Most Overrated. Prompt: Write a critique arguing why a book, movie, TV show, album, or other widely praised work is more celebrated than it deserves.