But on closer inspection, it is rarely the women that require revision. The streetwalking Vivian Ward, stage-dominating Lilli Vanessi and hardscrabble Eliza Doolittle are not lacking in grit. When “My Fair Lady” opened on Broadway in 1956, Rex Harrison inflated Henry Higgins with such self-satisfied pomposity that he loomed frighteningly over everyone. “Pretty Woman” seeks to soften Edward Lewis, too, but instead it sands his edges down until he is a mere nub of a man. This allows Edward to avoid the grosser implications of the Pygmalion character; you rarely have to watch him lord over his woman.

Source: New York Times May 02, 2019 07:52 UTC