Rating (Anticipated): 3/5 Stars (Charming Nostalgia, Familiar Fairy Tale Stress)
Director: [Hypothetical Director: Garry Marshall, style protégé] Starring: Julia Roberts (Vivian Ward-Lewis), Richard Gere (Edward Lewis) Genre: Romantic Comedy / Domestic Drama Setting: Beverly Hills, 35 Years Later
PRETTY WOMAN 2: THE HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE catches up with Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis thirty-five years later. The film smartly avoids a simple romance repeat, instead focusing on the stresses of maintaining a fairy tale life while facing the modern anxieties of Hollywood and raising their now-adult children.
1. The Core Premise: The Crisis of the Heirs
The film begins with the revelation that Vivian and Edward’s lives, while outwardly perfect in their Beverly Hills mansion, are secretly crumbling under the weight of expectations.
- Edward’s Dilemma: Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is now a semi-retired corporate titan who has dedicated his life to philanthropy, but he is desperately bored. He is tempted to return to the aggressive corporate world to save his son’s failing startup, jeopardizing his personal commitment to Vivian.
- Vivian’s Role: Vivian Ward-Lewis (Julia Roberts) is an admired patron of the arts and a formidable social figure. Her conflict is that she is losing her emotional connection to her husband and feels her own “street smarts” are useless against the sophisticated, modern problems facing her family.
2. The Conflict: The Two Children
The plot is driven by the conflicts facing their two adult children, each representing a different side of the family legacy:
- The Son (The Corporate Threat): Their son, the heir to the financial empire, is running a failing tech startup that is being aggressively targeted by a ruthless, young corporate raider (the film’s main antagonist). Edward is tempted to bail him out using aggressive, old-school tactics—the very behavior Vivian helped him abandon.
- The Daughter (The Artistic Struggle): Their daughter, who inherited Vivian’s passion and theatrical flair, is an aspiring Broadway actress struggling with the industry’s harsh reality. She faces a crisis of confidence, mirroring Vivian’s own journey in the first film.
3. The Central Crisis: Finding the Fire Again
Vivian and Edward’s relationship is strained. They are perfect partners, but they’ve lost their fire.
- The Nostalgia Trip: To remind Edward of his genuine passion, Vivian plans a lavish, secretive nostalgia trip—renting a version of the iconic penthouse apartment and recreating their initial, tumultuous week together, complete with a return to the opera (though this time, she appreciates it).
- The New ‘Hustle’: Vivian realizes that to save her family, she must employ the genuine street smarts and human honesty she used to save Edward 35 years ago. She uses her social connections and brutal honesty to bypass the corporate games and expose the antagonist, proving that she remains the fiercest negotiator in Beverly Hills.
4. Conclusion: The Real Deal
The film concludes with Edward realizing that his true value is not in his corporate prowess, but in his commitment to Vivian and his family. The happy ending is no longer about the Cinderella transformation, but about the enduring strength of an unconventional partnership that chose love over money and must fight to keep that promise alive.
