...sustains a spirited bounce in its step that is still infectious today.
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The character of Holly Golightly may have been slightly altered from the one Truman Capote had in mind in his short novel "Breakfast at Tiffany's," but it became one of Audrey Hepburn's trademark roles. Her blend of big-city polish and back-home naiveté have delighted audiences for nearly four decades, and the movie remains one of Hollywood's sweetest, most engaging romances.
Holly is the spunky, free-spirited "party girl" who revels in her worldly lifestyle. She is, of course, a phony, a small-town girl from Tulip, Texas, who has gone to the big city to find herself. She winds up accepting money from gentlemen for "going to the powder room." When she gets a bad case of the "mean reds,"--that is, she feels downhearted--she heads off to do some browsing at Tiffany's jewelry store.
Then she meets a new neighbor, Paul Varjak, played by George Peppard, a would-be writer being "kept" by a wealthy interior decorator (Patricia Neal). Holly and Paul immediately become soul mates, and the story chronicles their on-again, off-again friendship and romance.
Buddy Ebsen plays Holly's patient but not-too-understanding former husband, Doc Golightly. Martin Balsam is a fast-talking Hollywood agent. Jose-Luis de Villalonga is a Brazilian millionaire Holly tries to marry. And Alan Reed is a mob boss, Sally Tomato, that Holly visits on a weekly basis in Sing Sing Prison. The only jarring note in the cast is Mickey Rooney's portrayal of a racially stereotyped Japanese-American. A lot of people thought it was daringly funny at the time, and probably still do, but I am not one of them. I find the part offensive enough to make me cringe in embarrassment.
The first half of the film does a good job of sticking to Capote's vision, but in traditional movieland style Holly is far more vulnerable here than in the book, and the film's plot is given a much happier, fairy-tale ending. By and large, though, the story remains a joy, even if minor parts of it can be tedious, and the sophisticated comedy can seem a little pretentious. It's also somewhat depressing from today's standpoint to watch an entire cast smoking itself into oblivion.
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[release]2786[/release]