Review: Breakfast at Tiffany's

If you take a look at the history of romantic movies, you can never overlook Breakfast at Tiffany's. Horribly under-appreciated, Breakfast is a wonderful film. It has Audrey Hepburn in a role that would make modern actresses salivate. She plays the infamous Holly Golightly, a woman who claims to be "a wild thing", never able to love or be loved. On the inside however, she is vulnerable, and loving. She has evaded herself and life for her short lifespan on Earth, but she can never truly escape her true self.
Holly likes to play the field. She goes on one date with a man, gets money out of him ($50 for the powder room, $50 for cab money), then flees him the next day. She lives a hectic life: visits to Sally Tomato every Thursday in prison to deliver his "weather report", buzzing Mr. Yunioshi for access to the apartment, and worrying about her brother Fred. Come to think of it, her life is built much more around routine than anyhting.
But then she meets Paul Varjak, a writer/gigolo, who is used to relying on people for normality and money. He is unlike to "rats" that Holly is used to liking, and she is unlike the other women that he has fallen in love with.
This is the basic premise for the film (based on a short story by Truman Capote), but the movie is so much more than just romance, it is the perfect hectic romantic comedy, coupled with wonderful movie making.
The party scene goes on a little long, which is my only complaint, but the rest of the subplots are perfect: Holly's attachment to her brother Fred, her need to marry money, and her former life all work so well to deepen a character that could have been so much more boring.
The acting is first rate. Audrey Hepburn deserved an Academy Award for her performance, and earns a place in my book as one of the best performances ever. George Peppard is wonderful as Paul, and he couples so perfectly with Audrey, that its hard it imagine them not being together. The movie also includes the best theme song to any movie: "Moonriver".
The movie perfectly captures an impossible romance made possible by love, and maybe we need a story like that every once and a while.
AAA signing out!
Grade: A+