12 iconic lines from Vivian Ward we will never forget
Played by Julia Roberts, Vivian Ward is one of Hollywood’s most memorable heroines. Vivian begins her story as a sex worker on Hollywood Boulevard and meets businessman Edward, who urges her to find other options after entering into a business deal with her.
Vivian undergoes a major character transformation, puts several snobbish and judgmental characters from her world in their place, and even teaches Edward a few things. All the while, she makes the audience laugh and understand her point of view. Continue reading to revisit iconic lines from Beautiful woman‘s Vivian Ward, which is impossible to forget.
Updated by Amanda Bruce on October 31, 2021: Although Pretty Woman has some darker aspects to it, the film is still a beloved romantic comedy today. With two characters from vastly different worlds, a happy ending and lots of chemistry between Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, it’s no wonder romance fans love it. Vivian’s seriousness is part of what makes the character so great. Even when she has a false sense of accomplishment, the audience can see the woman downstairs. That is why so many of her remarks are so memorable.
12 “You know you could pay me. It’s a way to, maybe, break the ice.”
When Edward and Vivian first make their arrangement, it’s clear that things are a little awkward for him, but that for her it’s all business. The reality of her industry is that sometimes her customers jump out to pay her. Vivian is clearly well aware of the fact as the duo arrives at Edward’s hotel room and cheekily offers this line to disperse the awkward excitement.
The line does the job, but it also shows the audience how risky her area of work can be.
11 “The bad things are easier to believe. Have you ever noticed that?”
This may not be as memorable as some of the more famous quotes from Beautiful woman, but it is no less effective. Vivian makes a good point with this line.
Sure, the film may be a romantic comedy that exhibits some of the tougher aspects of Vivian’s life, but the film certainly does not blur the judgment of others over her. It’s always easier for someone to believe the evil in a stranger than the good, and Vivian sees this on a regular basis. While she is certainly charming and intelligent, most of the people she originally interacts with in the film do not see it until she presents herself in the style they do not judge.
10 “I can do anything I want, honey. I’m not lost.”
Vivian drops this line about Edward when she first meets him on Hollywood Boulevard. He claims it’s unfair that she’s trying to charge him for directions, but she’s simply pointing out that she can do anything she wants because ‘I’m not lost..Julia Roberts, in one of her most sympathetic roles, delivers the words perfectly!
This line is so powerful because it reveals Vivian’s daring character and lets the audience know that Edward may have met his match. Eventually, he pays her for the directions, leading to their business deal.
9 “I would have stayed for two thousand.”
When Vivian first meets Edward, her guard is understandably up. His feelings have no bearing on her, and her primary concern is her money. But she lets it slip that she still has a soft spot for him by telling him that she would have stayed for two thousand after they agreed on three thousand.
In what could be the perfect answer, Edward tells Vivian that he would have paid four thousand. It’s a nice look at their connection to each other in a simple exchange.
8 “Don’t you just love Prince?”
This is one of those Beautiful woman quotes that do not have the big impact in themselves, but in context it is one of the funniest in the movie. After spending a night with Edward, “Vivian” takes a swim “in the hotel’s bathtub. When Edward goes in to propose to her his appointment, he sees that she is singing for Prince while she is covered in bubbles.
Because Vivian continues to sing without knowing she is being watched, this is one of those times where we get to see her strong character being completely vulnerable. She feels so awkward when she realizes he’s listening to her that she’s trying to make this joke about Prince.
7 “Smooth little pacifiers.”
“Slipery little suckers,” must be one of the most famous lines from Beautiful woman. That’s what Vivian says in the chic French restaurant as she accompanies Edward to his business meeting with James Morse and his grandson. She tries so hard to fit in, but while trying to eat the escargot, she ends up slinging one straight from her plate.
This is one of the funniest moments in the film because it perfectly symbolizes how awkward Vivian is in Edward’s world, but also how she is willing to adapt.
6 “Well color me happy, there’s a couch here for two.”
Some of Vivian’s dialogue clearly shows how unrefined and transparent she is compared to Edward and the people in his world. What most fans love most about Vivian is the way she deliberately antagonizes people who judge her or stare at her.
When she notices two snobbish people looking at her when she first arrives at the hotel, she shouts this line out loud to purposefully make them more uncomfortable. It’s fun for the audience to see Vivian put people in their place with just one stroke.
5 “People put you down enough so you start believing it.”
Beautiful woman blesses the viewers with many fun moments, but there are also a handful of sentimental moments in there. One of the most memorable sentimental lines comes when Edward and Vivian have a deep and meaningful conversation in bed.
As Edward tries to encourage her to reach her potential, she gives him one of the saddest lines from Beautiful woman, “People beat you down enough so you start believing it.“This sad but true line resonates with many of the film’s fans.
4 “If I forget to tell you later, I had a great time tonight.”
The growing relationship between Edward and Vivian is what makes the film so captivating to so many fans. This line, as Vivian tells Edward, captures the bond between them and how their relationship is slowly evolving beyond the point of a pure business deal.
From the beginning, Edward and Vivian have a chemistry that is evident through lines like this. Both worry more about each other than they should until they can no longer deny their feelings.
3 “It was so good I almost peed in my pants!”
Seeing Vivian misplaced in Edward’s world never ceases to be entertaining. The stage in the opera is sentimental because the audience gets a much softer side of Vivian. But at the same time, there’s that hint of comedy in there when Vivian exclaims to the older patron: “It was so good I almost peed in my pants!”
Fortunately, Edward covers for her by saying, “She said she liked it better than Pirates of Penzance.“It simply came to our notice then Beautiful woman quotes that make the audience laugh.
2 “She saves him right away.”
These days, rom-coms that really stand out are the ones where the female character does not have to trust a man to save her. IN Beautiful woman, Edward saves Vivian in a way by giving her the confidence to get off the street and take an education. He also falls in love with her and symbolically saves her from her tower.
But then Vivian “saves him right back” by showing him that there is a world beyond a company that makes him unhappy. Give and take between the characters means there are not very modern audiences that would change Beautiful woman if they could.
1 “Big mistake. Big. Huge big.”
Of course, the serve that Vivian gives to the snooty women on Rodeo Drive is the film’s most beloved moment and one of Julia Roberts’ most iconic retorts ever – not just the most famous retort from Beautiful woman. She returns to the retail assistants who refused to wait for her, shows them her many expensive purchases, asks them if they work on commission, and then gives this iconic answer: “Big mistake. Big. Huge big.”
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