Julia Roberts had the time of her life when she starred in the 1990 movie titled Pretty Woman. Portraying the role of a pr*stitute who falls in love with Richard Gere’s lead character, the movie had to change its ending after Disney thought it was too dark.
With the movie originally being a cautionary tale against drugs and pr*stitution, the 1990 film quickly became a romantic comedy which became quite remarkable in the process. J.F. Lawton, the writer of the film finally revealed the truth behind the original ending in 2021 and it is as dark as it gets!
Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman Had A Pretty Dark Ending
As is the tale of several Disney movies, Pretty Woman also had a dark ending that Disney urged writer J.F. Lawton to change so that the movie could get funding. Depicting the story of a client hiring a pr*stitute and her falling in love with him, the movie ends with a happy ending for audiences but it wasn’t the original ending planned.
As per trivia on IMDB, J.F. Lawton went to Disney to pitch them about Pretty Woman. Disney had no problem giving the movie a green light but the ending was too dark and grim for this movie. A myth began to grow that the original ending had Vivan being addicted to cocaine. Part of the deal that started the movie was Vivian couldn’t take drugs for a week while she was with Edward. At the end of the movie, Vivian finds her best friend Kit de Luca had overdosed on drugs while she was with Edward (Richard Gere).
However, this was merely an urban myth since the ending that writer J.F. Lawton had actually written was a pretty dark one too but involved less death and was more of a melancholic ending rather than a completely happy one.
The Original Ending Was Less Cruel
In 2021, J.F. Lawton created the musical Pretty Woman. As reported by Vanity Fair, During the musical, the writer revealed that he had originally planned a different ending that was much less cruel than the urban myth that was spread around the world.
As per the writer, Julia Roberts’ movie had an ending that was melancholic in nature. With Julia Robert’s character falling deeply in love with Richard Gere, the character of Edward Lewis drops her off where he picked her up from. They get into a fight and Gere offers her the original $3000 that he promised but she refuses to take it.
Richard Gere’s character angrily drives away after throwing the money at her. Before the homeless people could fight for the money, she picks it all up and takes her best friend Kit de Luca to Disneyland which was her dream. Pretty Woman received a rating of 7.1/10 on IMDB and 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 1990 film starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is available to rent on Apple TV+.
Source: IMDB, Vanity Fair
