Rating: 3/5
Anti-Criterion Challenge 2024 | 6/52 | 1960s
She's a phony. But she's a real phony.
This movie is the story of Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn), a woman who ran away from her past to live in New York and pretend to be rich. She earns money from “charming” men, wears opulent clothes, and has a delightful cat named Cat. Whenever she has the opportunity, she loves to browse the selection at Tiffany’s, especially with breakfast first thing in the morning.
One day, a poor writer named Paul moves into her building. But Paul is a kept man whose interior designer pays him for “services rendered.”
When Holly’s past comes looking for her, Paul learns the truth. While Holly wants to marry rich, Paul falls for her.
I don’t know how many people I’ve known in my life who modeled their entire personality on Audrey Hepburn’s performance in this movie.
The first 40 minutes of the movie is another dull satire — taken wholesale from Capote’s book. Once the movie gives that up, it becomes watchable, albeit not terribly interesting.
The rest of the movie plays find and replace with various romance tropes. The pieces don’t connect smoothly, so the emotional beats arrive at the right time but lack coherence.
Rooney claimed until his death that no one voiced any complaints about Mr. Yunioshi, but he wouldn’t have a conception of it being a problem if someone hadn’t mentioned it. He is constantly on screen.
The color is lovely, though!
Overall, I like the movies that this influenced more than the movie itself. For that reason, I’m glad it exists.
* Thoughts/Spoilers*
- Gotta have jail scenes — that’s all Capote knew.
- This party scene has no perspective — it’s just, “Look at these miserable shits.”
- Audrey Hepburn playing Moon River had to be the influence for Tracy playing La Vie en Rose in How I Met Your Mother
- She married Doc when she was 14?? Good lord.
- The striptease is weird.
- Mancini’s music suggests opulence when they walk into the brownest room I’ve ever seen.
- They get a Cracker Jack ring engraved. Even then, they were questioning whether Cracker Jack still did that.
- I enjoyed it when they ran by a couple in their masks, and the couple watched with such big smiles.
- That pink dress is everything.
- I teared up when she left Cat out in the rain. Unbelievably selfish and cruel.
- The discordant variation of Moon River is fucking gorgeous.
- Cat is all wet!! Someone help him :( Now I’m crying
- Then Paramount+ tried to play some South Park thing seconds after the movie finished and I became irate.