Sequel Essay

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Jane Smith

Professor Sewell

FILM 2080

November 21, 2019

Mujer Bonita

Pretty Woman is a classic romantic comedy released in 1990. Romcoms in the 90’s

consisted of two white heterosexuals from two different worlds who you would never imagine

being together, ending up falling in love. Yet, what filmmakers failed to apply in these films is

diversity. Pretty Woman has a lot potential to add diversity and to refine it to fit into modern

society. Even in today’s culture, the main actors in romantic comedies are hardly ever from the

Latino Hispanic race. Remaking Pretty woman into a more diverse and modern romcom would

make it more prevalent to society and would be out of stereotypes usually made in romcoms.

Mujer Bonita would not only target white people, but Hispanics and African Americans also,

bringing more audiences to watch and relate to the film.

Mujer Bonita will star Jennifer Lopez (figure #1) instead of Julia Roberts and Michael

Ealy (figure #2) instead of Richard Gere. Megan Fox (figure #3) will be Jennifer Lopez’s

roommate instead of Laura San Giacomo. Michael Ealy is perfect for the character of Edward

Lewis who will now be named Chris Lewis. Ealy has been in multiple movies involving romance

for example, The Perfect Guy, Think like a Man Too, About Last Night, etc. He is the perfect fit

for Mujer Bonita because of his charming looks and his experience in romcoms. He will also be

making Mujer Bonita more diverse acting alongside Lopez. She is a beautiful actress who has

been in ten romance films, allowing her to grow and gain experience in this genre. Lopez is also

a musical artist, so knowing how to dance and sing allows her to play her part as a stripper in

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Mujer Bonita to the best of her abilities. Lopez shows her skills in acting as a stripper in the film

Hustlers where she brings her talent to a whole new level by the way she takes control and

portrays her part to her greatest potential. Her character’s name in Mujer Bonita will be Jane

Rodriguez and her best friend will be portrayed by Fox, whose name will be Joanna Martinez

instead of Kit de Luca. Fox would best suit the part of Lopez’s best friend because of her part in

the movie Transformers. She is an alluring actor and her character in Transformers was very

provocative, allowing her to be suitable for the stripper best friend in Mujer Bonita. The fourth

character change for Mujer Bonita is Jason Alexander, known as Phillip Stuckey in the film

Pretty Woman. Instead of Alexander, Channing Tatum (figure #4) will play the part, renamed

Zack Humphries in Mujer Bonita. He’s a charming actor who can play the part based on his

work in Magic Mike, Dear John, and other films which fits him right into this character. Lastly,

Mujer Bonita will add a new character, Jane’s mother, played by Ivonne Coll, a great actor who

has been in multiple tv shows showing off her culture, speaking Spanish, and adding in that

ethnic touch that every film needs.

Mujer Bonita will take place in modern day east Miami. In this time period it has become

normal for people to go to clubs, or for woman to showcase their bodies, or for men and woman

to do whatever it takes to get money, even if it means scamming people or objectifying women’s

bodies. The strip club where Jane Rodriguez works will be called La Bare Miami (figure #5).

Miami is known for its nightlife and large Latino and Hispanic population. This change is

worthwhile because it’s very explicit and raw, from the way it depicts the environment of Miami

and the love story coming from two different ethnicities.

Mujer Bonita will be quite different from Pretty Woman. Chris Lewis will be an

immigration attorney instead, but also do some sketchy business affairs on the side allowing him

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to be the millionaire he is. He travels to Miami for an appointment attempting to suspend

deportation for his client. Jane Rodriguez is a citizen but fears her mother’s status now that ICE

is at every location in the US. Deleting the breakfast scene from Pretty Woman allows more

curiosity and suspicion on Chris Lewis’s job. Instead of Vivian asking, “So what do you do?”

Mujer Bonita will be substituting a scene where Jane Rodriguez leaves right at sunrise because

she receives a call from her best friend Joanna saying that ICE will be in downtown Miami.

While Jane creeps out of Chris’s bedroom, she passes by some papers where it reveals he is an

immigration attorney and rushes out. Little did Jane know, Chris heard her on the phone. Adding

a new scene, where there is crosscutting between both Jane and Chris, Jane is at her mother’s

house warning her to keep her head low. Janes mother doesn’t know she strips because Jane lies

to her saying she works at an office, but does her best to maintain her mother, providing the most

she can for her. Janes mother begs her to seek help at her “office” to ask if anyone can help, but

Jane refuses to go back to Chris since she had slept with him for money. Chris is on his way over

to where he first saw Jane hoping to see her to make a deal with her. He needed a literal beck and

call girl and after last night he couldn’t just forget about her. He finds her and that’s when he

purchases Jane for the rest of the week for $3,000 and gives her money to buy new clothes since

she couldn’t be wearing what she usually wears to business affairs. She tries to deny the money

and simply just ask for his help as an attorney for her mom. He said he would see how well she

does her job for this week and see if he can. Jane was glad because now she will dress more

appropriately which can lead her mother to believe she works at an office and now has a chance

at allowing her mother to have an attorney. The ending not only allows them to be together

happily ever after, but also shows paperwork where Chris will be Jane’s mother’s advocate.

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The chronology will mostly stay the same. The only minor change will be that in Mujer

Bonita, the beginning of the film will start with Jennifer Lopez, then crosscutting to Michael

Ealy’s life. This change will benefit the film drawing more attention and hooking the audience

right from the start of the film. The film’s title is Mujer Bonita, so showing Jennifer Lopez the

first seconds of the film shows you who the “pretty lady” is and gives insight on her life and

what she does right from the start.

Jennifer Lopez playing the character of Jane Rodriguez, the protagonist in Mujer Bonita,

will be costumed in different ways. She will be different from Vivian in Pretty Woman. Jane will

have a more modern look to fit the time period she is in. She will appear in the first scenes in

scandalous outfits matching her job title, a stripper (figure #6). Even more revealing than that,

she will have two pieces on as well. Jennifer Lopez will appear younger than she is (50 years

old). Making her look younger for the character of Jane, makeup will be at a minimum. The less

and lighter makeup, the better. Soft tones, like a soft bronzer on the cheeks, a highlight on her

cheekbones, less dramatic eyebrows, and no lipstick unless Jane is stripping (only in the

beginning of the film). Lopez will have her luscious natural curly hair just like Julia Roberts,

which matches perfectly (figure #7 and #8). After Chris Lewis gives Jane money to transform

her into a “pretty woman,” Jane will purchase clothes from New York and Company, Gucci,

Zara, and will look even more beautiful (see figures #9 #10 and #11).

The set design for Edward Lewis’s penthouse will look completely different. In the film

Pretty Woman, his penthouse looked very outdated yet fancy (figure #12), but in Mujer Bonita,

Chris Lewis will have a beach house since this takes place in downtown Miami, and it will look

very modern (figure 13). This set design is more suitable for Mujer Bonita since it matches the

modernism in 2019. Interior designs have changed since 1990. Most luxurious designs have

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white and grey, keeping it simple looks classier and makes the room look more spacious and

cleaner, also having natural light instead of yellow toned lights like in Pretty Woman.

Three props that are significant and important to the film is the necklace (figure #13), the

stick shift car (figure #14), and the credit card (figure #15). All three of these props were

significant because they all played a meaning into the film. With out the stick shift car, Edward

would have never found his way to Vivian. Edward needed some sort of transportation and

Vivian also saw him struggling, and surprisingly knew how to drive stick shift and taught him.

The credit card showed significance, since the whole film is based on money. Without money,

the two wouldn’t have met, opposites attract, she was desperate for money, and he had more than

enough of it. Lastly, the most meaningful prop is the necklace he gave her right before going to

the opera house when she asked if she looked alright and he said there was one thing missing and

took out the box of a quarter of a million-dollar necklace. This was the stage of their romance

blossoming. These three props were all meaningful and contributed very well into the film.

The three different song choices incorporate a different genre of music reflecting modern

tastes. In the scene where Edward is trying to drive the stick shift, the new song will be “OTW”

by Khalid ft 6lack, Ty Dolla $ign. This song is very distinct and fits the scene perfectly as it

literally means Edward is on the way to meet his so called happily ever after. “7 Rings” by

Ariana Grande will be playing in the scene where Vivian goes shopping finally and ends up

going back to the place where the salesperson wouldn’t give her any service. This song is

energetic and matches perfectly with the scene as well. The last song choice is a Spanish song

called “Besame” by Camila. which means “kiss me.” This song will match the scene where

Vivian and Edward kiss for the first time and make love. The song is very passionate and will go

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perfect with the scene. Adding this Spanish song also backs up the purpose of Mujer Bonita

being a diverse film.

Mujer Bonita needs to be made because it will bring more audiences to watch this film.

Romance is targeted for anyone, but mostly teenagers and young adults of all races will come to

watch, including Latinos and Hispanics. There may be some difficulties in the way of making

this film for example, being able to film in Miami due to weather issues or seeing if this fits

around Lopez’s schedule since she has a lot on her plate. Having the iconic Jennifer Lopez acting

along with the three other well-known actors also brings more fans and audiences to watch the

film. Adding some Hispanic diversity to the film would make it successful since not a lot of

films embrace that. Allowing some diversity to this love story and breaking the romcom

stereotype makes it more romantic as it shares different cultures. Mujer Bonita will be a big hit.

Figure #1 Figure #2 Figure#3

Figure #4 Figure #5

La Bare Miami

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Figure #6

Figure #7

Figure #8

Figure #12 Figure#13

Prop: Necklace

Figure

#13 Figure #14

To the left are figures #9 #10 #11

Transformation of style

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Prop: Stick shift car

Figure #15

Prop: Credit card