Breakfast at Tiffany's was released on October 5, 1961. It was written by George Axelrod, based on the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, produced by Martin Jurow and Richard Shepard, directed by Blake Edwards, and stars Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Mickey Rooney, and Buddy Ebsen. You can find the trailer here:
I've never seen this film before. If not for this list, I probably never would've seen it. So, I do thank the list for that. However, I truly didn't enjoy the movie as much as I thought I would. A phrase that has been coming up every now and then in these reviews is, "I went in to it knowing I would like it, but not love it. And I came out loving it." That wasn't the case with this film.
Let's start with Audrey Hepburn. Everyone always talks about how she was just phenomenal in this, and for good reason. She was brilliant. Truly sublime. She plays Holly Golightly, a country girl who has become a New York socialite. I've never seen one of her films before, and I gotta tell you, she was great. She loves her brother so much, that she calls her best friend by her brother's name. She wants to marry rich men, and will stop at nothing to do so. She assists known mobsters with their dealings, and pretends she knows nothing of it. She's a truly fascinating character, simply brilliant. But praise must also be given to the other lead, Paul Varjak, played by George Peppard. Everytime I've heard something about this film, I've never heard anything about his performance, but I think he was just as good as Audrey Hepburn. Admittedly, the reason why you never hear about his performance is probably because his character isn't as interesting as Holly Golightly, but still, he's not boring you.
The rest of the cast does good, but I want to talk about one person in particular: Mickey Rooney. He plays a character called Mr. Yunioshi. He's playing a complete Asian stereotype. I've heard that some screenings of this film have been recently protested by Asian groups, because of his portrayal. It really is quite offensive, and stupid. I don't really see why it was inserted in the film, or why it wasn't downplayed. I realize that it was 1961, and Asian people appeared in Asian cinema, not mainstream American cinema, but seriously, would it have been extremely hard to get an actual Asian person to play the Asian character in the film? And portray him convincingly? Now, I have to admit, it doesn't harm the film, seeing how his character isn't part of the main plot, except for one scene at the end that actually is quite funny, and doesn't invoke the Asian stereotype. Overall, I suppose it's just harmless fun, but seems really stupid and non-PC nowadays.
Now let me talk about what I really don't like. While Holly Golightly is an interesting character, she's not an identifiable one. I found her to be stupid, arrogant, and just plain bitchy at some parts of the film. It makes her character more interesting to watch, but for me at least, I find myself hating her. When the world has come down around her, and the man who loves her is there for her, willing to do anything for her, she insists on leaving him, and running away. (SPOILERS) While she doesn't, the sheer fact that she wanted to was just plain stupid, arrogant, and bitchy. And that is the main reason why I didn't like this film.
One good thing for the film would have to be the comedy. When it wanted to be, it was very funny. For instance, there's a party, and we see a woman, drunk out of her mind, looking at herself in the mirror, and laughing her head off. It cuts to a scene of Holly talking to some men, and a minute later, we cut back to this woman, except now, she's bawling her eyes out, makeup all over her face. That is HILARIOUS. The film has these little bits of comedy every now and then, and it's always a joy to see these. However, we have to cut back to the plot, so that is quite annoying for me.
Overall, I'd have to say that due to Audrey Hepburn's performance, this is one of the best films on this list. However, I didn't enjoy it all that much, for the same reason as why it is so great. Overall, I give it a 6/10. Remember, this numeric score rates my enjoyment of the film, not how great it is. If you want a great film, you should check this out, but be warned. You might come out hating Miss Golightly.
Next time, I'm watching The Wicker Man, the film infamous for it's remake with Nicolas Cage. (Not the bees! Not the bees! AAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
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