Holly Go 'Round The Roses

If there's truth in the old saying about a true sophisticate being one who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of the Lone Ranger, then what does it say about me that I can't think about a certain Audrey Hepburn movie without being reminded of a certain pop song with the same name?

Anyway, mi novia and I went to a free screening of Breakfast at Tiffany's last night and we both enjoyed the movie. We had both seen bits and pieces of the movie on TV when we were teenagers but this was the first time we had ever seen the whole movie all the way through.

Does it hold up?

Well, I like to think the fact that mi novia enjoyed it despite not even being born when the movie was first released says something in the film's favor. And I must confess I found the movie's rather old-fashioned approach to sex and nudity -- much hinted at but never really shown -- to be a refreshing alternative to the more explicit -- and boring -- approach taken by many of today's films.

Of course, not all aspects of the movie was that admirable. Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the Japanese landlord/neighbor/whatever was in at best questionable taste back then and it hasn't improved with age. Nor is it particularly admirable that the film's view of New York City seems to be almost totally devoid of dark-skinned people. The one non-white I remember seeing on screen was a Japanese extra in a party scene and she, of course, had no lines.

To be fair, few movies of the early sixties seem all that PC by today's standards. And the movie does have many virtues of which political correctness knows nothing. It's smart and witty and subtle. Audrey Hepburn looks absolutely adorable even when her character first wakes up, and even George Peppard -- who wasn't exactly the Kennedy era's answer to Clark Gable -- comes across as rather charming.

I must confess to being a bit surprised by how much this film manage to get away with by 1961 standards. Not only does the film hint that both Holly (Ms. Hepburn's character) and Paul (George's character) support themselves by means that wouldn't exactly be endorsed by the local clergy, but there's also a hint towards the end that Holly just might be in the family way. And then, of course, there's a scene in a 1960s-era strip club that is especially interesting. On one hand, the scene doesn't hide the fact that Holly and George are in an actual strip club. On the other, it doesn't show any actual nudity. And Holly's humorous yet restrained reaction to the stripper's grand “unveiling” says more than a thousand double entendres.

All in all, this was an interesting movie.