Self-involved corporate raider Richard Gere has recently split up with his girlfriend. Seeking directions to the Beverly Hills Hotel, he makes the acquaintance of freespirited hooker Julia Roberts. For reasons that defy logic, Gere decides to put Julia on a $3000 retainer as his "date." He Cinderellarizes her by bankrolling a full wardrobe and cosmetic makeover. Of course, the set-up will be strictly platonic. Yeah, sure. A disarming modern-day fairy tale (never mind the "R" rating), Pretty Woman was--all together now--The Picture That Made Julia Roberts a Superstar. As charming as she is in her "giggling" sequences, Roberts' best scene occurs during her triumphant return to a posh Rodeo Drive shop where she'd been previously snubbed. Keeping Pretty Woman afloat throughout is the buoyant direction of Garry Marshall and the always welcome presence of Marshall's stock company of actors, including the ubiquitous Hector Elizondo as a stuffy but golden-hearted concierge. Incidentally, Pretty Woman had gone into production with the intention of including a subplot involving homicidal drug dealers, but wiser (and more box-office savvy) heads prevailed.