Breakfast at Tiffany's

• Title:  Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Director:  Blake Edwards
• Date:  1961
• Studio:  Paramount
• Genre:  Drama, Romance
• Cast:  Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Mickey Rooney
• Format:  Technicolor, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

I bought Breakfast at Tiffany's as part of a three-pack of  Audrey Hepburn films, but even though it's regarded as a classic, it's actually my least favorite of  the three (my favorite being Sabrina).  The problem with the movie, for me, is it's not really about anything.  There really isn't much of  a plot.  The film doesn't even have much of  the standard romantic comedy plot, though romance is an important thread that runs through the picture.  Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a party girl, who gives the impression there isn't a brain in her head.  She's looking for a rich husband, and going through New York society to do it.

George Peppard is Paul Varjak, a struggling writer, and "kept man" who runs into Holly when he moves into the apartment above hers.  The two have an attraction, especially as they keep running into each other over and over again.  But she wants a rich husband, not someone who loves her, she says.  And she's cruel about it.  When Paul ends his relationship with the woman who's supporting him (Patricia Neal), Holly throws him out as well, announcing her intention to marry a rich Brazilian she met at one of  her fancy parties.  At the end of the picture, she even abandons her cat, "Cat", on the cold, rainy, New York streets in an attempt to convince Paul she doesn't care about anything.

Paul, who's a much more sympathetic character, loves Holly.  Or he keeps saying he does.  But somehow, it seems skin deep.  This film doesn't have the realistic built characters, like, say The Apartment does, when we are sympathetic to Bud and Fran.  Neither is the plot of a man being exploited by a designing woman and trying to get away, fully realized as it is in Sunset Blvd (where the writer fails).  Rather, Breakfast At Tiffany's  just sort of meanders along, never reaching a goal, even the end doesn't feel satisfying and happy like your typical romantic comedy.  I liked Paul a lot, and Hepburn looks stunning as usual, but overall, not my favorite Audrey Hepburn film.

Recommendation:  Skip It
Rating:  3 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  The Breakfast Club