Not quite a tale as old as time.
But when it comes to romantic comedies, the 1990 movie “Pretty Woman” is as close as it gets to an adult fairy tale.
Really thinking about the plot (which I haven’t done in a long while) makes you feel a little icky to say the least. You know “the oldest profession in the world” bit being Vivian’s job.
Heading out to see the pre-Broadway world premiere of “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” I was curious if audience members would also be jostling with the same torn emotions. Or was I just overthinking it?
Looking around I saw groups of women enjoying a well-deserved girls’ night out. Some mothers brought millennial daughters who had never heard of the film. And I even saw a father-and-son duo.
After curtain call and talking with several audience members, I curiously realized most enjoyed their storybook, happy ending without an ounce of guilt. Unless, that is… I brought it up, which clearly rained on their parade as shown by the dark cloud that would pass over their once brightly-lit faces. Sorry.
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I remember watching “Pretty Woman” for the first time in middle school. It was a big deal. My best friend Meredith, the preacher’s daughter, and I had begged her mother to rent it for us. Ms. Paula was hesitant to let us indulge in the romantic comedy with adult themes.
But we won. And we swooned. We hoped, one day, we could be like Vivian, with a rich, handsome guy who only wore suits, played sad piano music, and took us on unlimited shopping sprees. We would meet at age 24 and get married.
As pre-teens, we didn’t know exactly what Vivian was doing on Hollywood Boulevard but we did feel to our core that she was much too sparkly to belong there. We didn’t get the intricacies of romance, but what it means to be special and chosen for a greater destiny made complete sense to us.
It occurred to me during Wednesday night’s performance, it felt great to root for a good, smart girl who deserves more than what an unlucky life has doled out for her. I wanted her dreams to come true. “Good things happening to good people” brings a sense of justice to the world, and selfishly, gives us hope for our own.
And I was overthinking it. The fairy tale is the idea that any one person can rescue you from yourself, regardless of your lot in life. Vivian would have figured out she deserved more, whether he came back or not. That’s what made her special. She was already on her way!
This time as a grownup, I fell in love with Vivian. Forget Edward.
