Poster © Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy & Romance
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 59 mins
ReleasedMarch 23, 1990
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorGarry Marshall
StarringRichard Gere, Julia Roberts
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Pretty Woman (1990)
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| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Pretty Woman's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy & Romance |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 03/23/1990 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 59 mins |
| Budget | $14M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Pretty Woman's Interests | |
| General | Rodeo Drive, polka dot dresses, the opera, stick shifts, a grand piano, escargot that refuses to cooperate. |
| Music | James Newton Howard on score, plus Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" and Roxette on repeat. |
| Movies | Runaway Bride (1999). Gere, Roberts and Marshall, together again. |
| Television | Happy Days. Garry Marshall's TV hit, long before Rodeo Drive. |
| Heroes | Barney Thompson. Best hotel manager in Beverly Hills, and the kindest one too. |
| Pretty Woman's Crew | |
| Director | Garry Marshall |
| Writers | J. F. Lawton |
| Producers | Arnon Milchan, Steven Reuther, Gary W. Goldstein |
| Cinematography | Charles Minsky |
| Music | James Newton Howard |
| Edited By | Raja Gosnell, Priscilla Nedd |
| Production | Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, Regency International Pictures (uncredited) |
| Distributed By | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Swap Cinderella’s prince for a corporate raider who takes companies apart for parts, and you’ve got Pretty Woman, a movie convinced that a barefoot walk in the park fixes him. Richard Gere mostly stands around like a very expensive coat rack. The deal at the center, a rich guy paying a Hollywood Boulevard working girl to be his date for the week, gets glossed into a makeover montage so fast you barely notice how lopsided the power is. Julia Roberts makes you stop caring. Her laugh is a special effect, and the Rodeo Drive payback scene is still the most satisfying shopping trip in movie history. Héctor Elizondo’s hotel manager quietly teaching her which fork to use might be the real love story. It made $463.4 million worldwide on a reported $14M budget, which is its own fairy tale. A 6.4 because Roberts is pure movie star and the romance is a transaction in a nice dress. $46.52 says you walk into a fancy store this year and rehearse a comeback line in your head.
What works: Julia Roberts at full movie-star wattage, Héctor Elizondo’s kind hotel manager and the all-time great Rodeo Drive comeback scene.
What doesn’t: Edward is a cold, stiff love interest, and the movie smooths over a very lopsided money-and-power setup with shopping montages.
Who it’s for: Rom-com fans who want a comfort rewatch, and anyone who has ever been looked down on by a store clerk.
Spoilers
Vivian turns down Edward’s offer of an apartment and a car, because she wants the whole fairy tale or nothing. Edward decides to help the Morse company instead of breaking it up, then shows up at her building in a white limo and climbs the fire escape with flowers, despite his fear of heights.
Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) buys struggling companies and sells them off in pieces, and he cannot drive a stick shift. Lost on Hollywood Boulevard in his lawyer's sports car, he gets help from Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts), a sharp, funny local with rent due who knows exactly how the gearbox works. Edward is in town for a week of business dinners and needs someone on his arm, so he pays Vivian to be his date at a fancy Beverly Hills hotel. The snooty boutiques on Rodeo Drive are not impressed. Hotel manager Barney (Héctor Elizondo) quietly takes her side. Garry Marshall directs. One hundred nineteen minutes, one legendary shopping trip.
Anyone who has ever been snubbed at a fancy store. Go back with the shopping bags.
Jim Morsephoto: Lord Calvert / Photographer: Valentino Sarra, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Philip Stuckeyphoto: flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Richard Gere | Edward Lewis |
| Julia Roberts | Vivian Ward |
| Ralph Bellamy | Jim Morse |
| Jason Alexander | Philip Stuckey |
| Héctor Elizondo | Barnard "Barney" Thompson |
| Laura San Giacomo | Kit De Luca |
| Alex Hyde-White | David Morse |
| Amy Yasbeck | Elizabeth Stuckey |
| Elinor Donahue | Bridget |
| John David Carson | Mark Roth |
| Judith Baldwin, | Susan |
| Patrick Richwood | Dennis Rowland |
| James Patrick Stuart | Day Bellhop |
| Dey Young | a snobbish saleswoman in a clothing store |
| Larry Miller | Mr. Hollister |
| Hank Azaria | a detective |
| Larry Hankin | a landlord |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.1 / 10 (413,350 votes) → 7.1 / 10 (413,389 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $463.4M; Domestic box office $178.4M; Opening weekend $11.3M; Profit / loss (est.) +$210.7M; Rotten Tomatoes 65%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 65% (78 reviews); Metacritic 51 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.1 / 10 (413,350 votes); movie.guru score 6.3.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.