Gere: Pretty Woman a silly romantic comedy

The 1990 story of wealthy financier, Edward Lewis, played by Gere, who falls in love with prostitute Vivian – introducing Julia Roberts in her first major role – grossed an estimated $463.4 million (£292.6 million) at the box office. It also saw the highest number of ticket sales in the US ever for a romantic comedy, and won a Best Actress Golden Globe award and Oscar nomination for Roberts. But Gere said he now finds the film distasteful – because it glamorised the world of Wall Street traders. "People ask me about that movie, but I've forgotten it," he said. "That was a silly romantic comedy. "It made those guys seem dashing, which was wrong. Thankfully, today, we are all more sceptical of those guys."The 63-year-old Officer and a Gentleman star's comments appeared in Australia's Woman's Day magazine, as he promoted his new film, Arbitrage, which is due to be released later this year. In the movie, Gere plays a New York hedge fund manager, but, he says, the new film is more realistic about the moral issues involved with real wealth. "This is a much more serious movie that has some real cause and effect," he said.