The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.

Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and sex work in Los Angeles, the film was re-conceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget.

Pretty Woman received mixed reviews from critics upon release, but widespread praise was directed towards Roberts' performance and her chemistry with Gere.

The following day, Edward asks Vivian to stay for the week, as he must attend a series of business events while attempting to acquire Jim Morse's shipbuilding company.

Edward takes Vivian by private jet to see La traviata at the San Francisco Opera, a story about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.

Vivian returns to her apartment hotel to pack for her move to San Francisco to get a new job and finish her high school degree.

[4] Producer Laura Ziskin considered these elements detrimental to a sympathetic portrayal of Vivian, and they were removed or assigned to Kit.

It was Walt Disney Studios then-president Jeffrey Katzenberg who insisted the film be re-written as a modern-day fairy tale and love story, as opposed to the original dark drama.

Marshall originally envisioned Karen Allen for the role; when she declined, auditions went to many better-known actresses of the time including Molly Ringwald,[17] who turned it down as she didn't like the story as she felt "there was something icky about it".

[20] Drew Barrymore, Patricia Arquette, Brooke Shields, Uma Thurman, and Kristin Davis also auditioned for the role of Vivian.

Diane Lane came very close to being cast (the script was much darker at the time); they had gone as far as costume fittings, but due to scheduling conflicts she could not accept.

J. F. Lawton, writer of the original screenplay, has suggested that the film was ultimately given a happy ending because of the chemistry of Gere and Roberts.

[6] Veteran actor Ralph Bellamy, who plays James Morse, appears in his final acting performance before his death in 1991.

[4] Most filming took place in Los Angeles, California, specifically in Beverly Hills, and inside soundstages at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

These included Ferrari and Porsche declining the product placement opportunity for the car Edward drove, as neither firm wished to be associated with prostitutes.

[4] While shooting the scene where Vivian is lying down on the floor of Edward's penthouse, watching reruns of I Love Lucy, Garry Marshall had to tickle Roberts' feet (out of camera range) to get her to laugh.

[31] The scene in which Gere playfully snaps the lid of a jewelry case on her fingers was improvised, and her surprised laugh was genuine.

[32] During the scene in which Roberts sang a Prince song in the bathtub, slid down, and submerged her head under the bubbles; she emerged to find the crew had left except for the cameraman, who captured the moment on film.

The website's critical consensus states, "Pretty Woman may be a yuppie fantasy, but the film's slick comedy, soundtrack, and casting can overcome misgivings.

[50][51] Gary Giddins wrote, "In the insidious Pretty Woman, all women who aren't explicitly identified as tramps are gold-digging wives or snooty shopkeepers.

"[52] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "D," saying it "starts out as a neo-Pygmalion comedy" and becomes a "plastic screwball soap opera", with the "kinds of characters who exist nowhere but in the minds of callowly manipulative Hollywood screenwriters".

"[53] On the film's twentieth anniversary, Gleiberman wrote another article addressing his original review, saying that while he felt some of his criticisms were valid, he would have given it a "B" today.

[50] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a positive review, praising how the film is about "a particularly romantic kind of love, the sort you hardly see in the movies these days".

Roberts does an interesting thing; she gives her character an irrepressibly bouncy sense of humor and then lets her spend the movie trying to repress it.

Ms. Roberts, as noted, is a complete knockout, and this performance will make her a major star...Mr. Gere is mildly constrained by the button-down aspects of Edward's character, but he manages to be dapper, amusing, and the perfect foil.

Though it has not been that long since he himself was on the other side of the Hollywood gigolo equation, he conveys a dignity and presence well suited to a soon-to-be-radicalized captain of industry.

Its logic depended on a disconnect between character and narrative, between image and meaning, between money and value, and that made it not cluelessly traditional but thoroughly postmodern.

"[56] In a 2019 interview, Roberts expressed uncertainty over whether the film could be made today due to its controversial premise, commenting, "So many things you could poke a hole in, but I don't think it takes away from people being able to enjoy it".

"[citation needed] A stage musical adaptation of the film opened on Broadway on July 20, 2018, in previews, officially on August 16 at the Nederlander Theatre.

Barks finished her run as Vivian on July 21, 2019, and was replaced by Jillian Mueller the following evening, with Brennin Hunt, of Rent fame, assuming the role of Edward.