Wide ScreenRichard Gere: ‘Pretty Woman’ is ‘my least favourite thing’
Sure, it might have been the movie that kick-started Julia Roberts' career, but according to co-star Richard Gere, the film "Pretty Woman" was nothing more than a silly rom-com and may have even helped contribute to the recent global financial crisis. Hooker with a heart of gold? A likely story, Wall Street!
The actor even went so far as to say the film is "my least favourite thing" out of a career spanning nearly 40 years.
In an interview with Australia's Woman's Day magazine, Gere had this to say about the 1990 film: "People ask me about that movie, but I've forgotten it. That was a silly romantic comedy."
In the film, the outspoken actor played Edward Lewis, a wealthy "corporate raider" (think Mitt Romney, only charming) who falls for a Hollywood prostitute (Roberts) while on a business trip. Gere believes that by focusing "Pretty Woman" on a Wall Street shark like Lewis, the filmmakers glorified a corporate culture and a way of doing business that should not be celebrated. "It made those guys seem dashing, which was so wrong," said Gere. "Thankfully, today, we are all more skeptical of those guys."
Coincidentally, the 62-year-old actor was promoting his new film "Arbitrage" when he made the comments about "Pretty Woman." In "Arbitrage," Gere plays another Wall Street type, a hedge fund manager who makes a huge mistake that could cost him everything.
Given Gere's obvious disdain for cutthroat capitalism, it's likely that "Arbitrage" will not paint the same "dashing" portrait of Wall Streeters that "Pretty Woman" did.
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