“I’m just CRAZY about Tiffany’s!”

Justin’s Rating: A-

Justin’s Review: A very common theme in romances is the plight of lonely people and how they’re pretty much everywhere in society. High or low, rich or poor, Rebel or Imperial, to be lonely is to share a struggle in common with so many others. Romance flicks are grasped as live preservers to the lonely, because they’re all about hope. Hope that there’s someone out there for you. Hope that your life won’t always be lonely. Hope in that you’re not alone being alone. Ironic, eh?

Breakfast At Tiffany’s is a sweet, highly quirky comedy that deals with two unfulfilled people and their loneliness. Set in the rippin’ 60’s, we meet two similar individuals leading shallow lives. Holly (Audrey Hepburn) has an empty apartment, dates guys for cash, refuses to name her cat because she doesn’t want an attachment, and throws meaningless parties. Oh, and she sometimes brings her breakfast to the windows of Tiffany’s, to look in on the “good life” of riches and diamonds. Paul (George Peppard) is a failed novelist who lives with an older lady who’s his sugar mama. Both are lonely, both have bottomed out but are refusing to acknowledge that.

It’s an incredibly depressing setup… until the two of them meet and the banter flies. Paul sees a soulmate in Holly and pursues her, but Holly lives in such denial that she refuses even the possibility of a relationship. She’s flighty, funny and ruthlessly distant from the world, but Paul’s dedicated to bringing her back to the realm of humanity.

I went to see this for the first time in 1997 at college. Joining me was my good girl (space) friend, Jill. As we watched Audrey Hepburn, she said to me, and I quote, “I want to be just like her.” “Why?” I asked. “Is it better to be a psycho woman who can’t commit to her cat, let alone a man, but can throw some swinging parties?”

This worries me, along with the fact that during this movie I became very attracted to Audrey, who is now suffering from a mild case of death. She has the eyes, the seductive ways, the charming impulsive personality. And, surprisingly, it makes me like her and loathe her at the same time. Breakfast At Tiffany’s has a long, bothersome plot which mainly revolves around the fact that Audrey is a big flirt and can drive men to suicide. It’s also as funny as anything, which is a lot considering it came from the same generation that produced such classics as Beach Blanket Bingo.

I put this on my very short list of must-see romances, simply because it rings more true than most movies. This girl can’t make up her mind and plays mind games with everyone. This guy is used, abused, and still holds a substantial amount of his personality to survive. And there’s the cat. See it, understand it, and don’t trust women who can’t name their cats.