None too pretty. Director Garry Marshall, the sophisticated talent who gave the world "Laverne and Shirley," comes a cropper with this Happy Hooker harangue. Yes, Julia Roberts's goofy good looks and giggly charm have a certain glimmer about them, rather like expensively wrapped
Christmas candy, but she's an actress of considerable shallowness. If anyone gets unwrapped in this film, it's Richard Gere, whose body is, interestingly enough, more on display than Roberts's or Laura San Giacomo's (who, by the way, gives the film's funniest performance). Maybe that's why some
feminists liked the film--though most of them knew better. Otherwise, Gere's performance as a corporate takeover specialist who picks up a pneumatic fantasy whore is strictly paint-by-numbers. The silly script lurches from one jarring, implausible moment to another, and Marshall directs like he
was wearing earplugs and boxing gloves on the set. OK, PRETTY WOMAN is supposed to be a fairy tale, but whose? Bound to offend prostitutes and millionaires everywhere, this flick is not the street-smart "Pygmalion" it desperately wants to be.
