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DM1ST

30

Pretty

things

REVIEW

BY Siobhan mcnally

Pretty good

...if you ever

had a mullet

SHOW ME THE

MONEY Edward

and Vivian in the

West End musical

Pretty Woman The Musical

Piccadilly Theatre, London

★★★★

“WELCOME to Hollywood,” sing the cast

of the brand new Pretty Woman The

Musical show.

The stage version of the 90s movie

starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts

has been sanitised for public

consumption, although it’s still too sexy

and seriously unreconstructed for anyone

born after the era of the mullet, which

explains the 12+ rating.

Fans of the fairytale love story between

the rich but ruthless Edward Lewis and

happy hooker Vivian Ward will totally buy

into this high-energy version.

Sticking faithfully to the film’s

storyline, the musical version practically

replicates the

movie script word

for word, with a

few added jokes.

And if you don’t

mind the coitus-

interruptus guitar

chords of music

co-writer Bryan

Adams in between the main action, you’re

in for a treat.

But while Julia Roberts boasted about

her 44-inch legs, teeny-tiny Aimie

Atkinson, who plays Vivian, is practically

swallowed by her thigh-high boots.

Similarly, leading man Danny Mac, who

plays Edward, is a Gere mini-me – and

when the two of them get together, it

looks like kids playing dress-up.

Saying that, small but perfectly formed

Aimie has a voice big enough to fill the

Albert Hall, even without those weird

forehead microphones. Surely all that bad

80s hair would be a perfect hiding place

for the pesky devices?

However, the beautiful couple are

eclipsed by Happy Man (Bob Harms) and

Vivian’s BFF Kit De Luca (Rachael

Wooding), with show-stopping numbers.

If you can park your 21st century

sensibilities, Pretty Woman hits the spot.

24

To celebrate the film’s 25th

anniversary back in 2015, the

Beverly Wilshire launched a “Pretty Woman

for a Day” package. Guests paying a

whopping £66,000 could stay in the

Presidential Suite and enjoy three hours of

personal shopping, plus a host of other

high-end treats.

25

Roberts was just 23 when she filmed

Pretty Woman, but it bagged her a

Golden Globe for the second year in a row.

She had won the previous year for Steel

Magnolias. She also got an Oscar

nomination for Pretty Woman.

26

The actress was very

nervous about filming

Vivian’s love scenes with

Edward, so much so that a

vein popped out on her

forehead. She then

came out in hives.

27

Struggling to

get Roberts

to genuinely laugh in

the hotel scene where

Vivian is watching I

Love Lucy, the director

positioned himself

off camera and tickled

her feet.

28

In the most

noticeable

blooper in Pretty

Woman, Vivian tucks

into a croissant – which

becomes a pancake when the camera

position changes.

29

The film was made for £11million and

grossed £360million worldwide,

becoming the fourth most successful

romantic comedy of all time.

30

In China, Pretty Woman was catchily

titled I Will Marry a Prostitute to

Save Money, a charming description which

does not accurately reflect the plot.

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end, Lotus stepped in with their Esprit

model – and orders for the car tripled after

the film came out.

18

Talented musician Gere plays the

piano for real in the famous hotel

love scene – and even composed the piece

of music he is playing himself.

19

The crew pranked Roberts when

Vivian dunked herself underwater in

the hotel’s luxurious bathtub after hearing

how much Edward would be paying her.

When the actress came up for air,

everyone had disappeared.

20

Gere and Jason

Alexander, who

played Edward’s

lawyer Philip

Stuckey, were

briefed to make

their fight scene

look as real as

possible. They

took the direction a

little too literally – and

Gere took a blow which

knocked a crown loose.

21

The movie was filmed

in LA film studios

and real locations

around the city’s

swanky Beverly Hills

district. The only hotel

that would allow

shooting inside and out

was the Beverly

Wilshire, with lobby scenes also filmed at

the Ambassador Hotel, which has since

been demolished.

22

The posh Voltaire restaurant where

Vivian has trouble eating snails for

the first time was actually a real-life eaterie

called Cicada.

23

The Rodeo Drive boutique where

Vivian is snubbed when she tries to

buy a designer outfit for the polo is at 9501

Santa Monica Boulevard. Then Boulmiche

Boutique, it is now Badgley Mischka.

fun facts on gere anD roberts fab romcom

HOT PIC

Richard Gere

and Julia

Roberts

in movie’s

iconic poster

PRANK Crew

scarpered

when Julia

dunked under

the water

DRIVE BY Lotus Esprit

driven by Gere