Romantic comedy makes a comeback in style - even with a few tears at the end. Hollywood hooker meets millionaire wheeler-dealer.

At first he's just amused, she's bemused. But then - wham! It is, as a character reminds us at the end, only the stuff that dreams are made of.

But here it's wrapped round a script, by JF Lawton, that, 30 years earlier, Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss would have killed to lay hands on: immaculately tailored to be funny, dramatic or touching as to the moment.

Julia Roberts is just adorable as the hooker: a star-making performance in the old tradition.

Opposite her, Richard Gere unexpectedly blossoms as a light romantic comedian of the very deftest touch.

And there are wonderful supporting roles: Hector Elizondo as the manager of the hotel where the action is, Patrick Richwood as the ogling night elevator boy who can't believe it all, and Jason Alexander, a real slimebag as Gere's oily lawyer.

Okay, so the sex is a little raunchier than the genre's used to, the language a bit saltier and the ending a tiny bit muffed.

But the whole thing's so warm and funny you'll cry.