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Roman Holiday, 1953
Young princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) is on a European tour. With every moment scheduled and every word she speaks in public scripted, Ann is beginning to crack under the strain. One night, she impulsively runs away and ends up in the apartment of news reporter Joe (Gregory Peck). When Joe realizes he has a princess sleeping on his couch, he recruits his photographer friend Irving (Eddie Albert) to secretly document as he takes Ann on an adventure around Rome.
I love it when you think you know something about a classic and then it totally surprises you. This was a really great pick, and it honestly hadn't been a priority for me to see on my own.
I think that what makes this film so great is the way that it intelligently leans into the elements that could be off-putting and going in unexpected directions.
To begin with, it was really refreshing to see a romantic comedy where the female lead is at the forefront of a lot of the physical comedy (I know there are others, but the ones I've seen recently have used the female lead as more of the character who reacts). Whether it's Hepburn trying to retrieve an errant high heeled shoe, or the princess elegantly failing to climb a spiral staircase, there's an ease and innocent charm about the comedy. Peck makes for a great straight man--especially in the sequences in the apartment where he must navigate the barely-conscious Ann from the bed to the couch and eventually back to the bed.
I also appreciated the way that the film manages to navigate the general ickiness of the situation. Joe is appropriately gentlemanly in their initial encounter (not undressing an intoxicated person--correct choice, Joe!), but in the second half of the film he lies to Ann, has her secretly photographed, and encourages certain behaviors knowing that he plans to exploit them for money. There's also a significant age and maturity gap between the two, and Ann's child-like mannerisms are so naive that she doesn't feel at all like an adult. But, wonderfully, the film makes this dynamic part of the point. Ann is the way she is because she has been relentlessly coddled and sheltered. Her naivete isn't innate to her character, it is a result of the way she has been treated her entire life.
And that's kind of the brilliance of the film. The romance itself isn't the point--the romance is the means to the end of a kind of self-realization for the character of Ann. Her character growth is prioritized over the "will they, won't they" aspect of the film. It also, interestingly, makes Joe's betrayal of her trust all the more potent. The stakes aren't just about whether or not he's a good guy and they'll end up together--the stakes are about whether this young woman figuring out who she is will be punished or not.
There's also a contemporary relevance to the plot itself. Late in the film, when Joe is having doubts about the plan, Irving tells him "Princesses are always fair game." Over the last year or so, there's been a lot of reflection about the way that certain celebrities (specifically people like Brittney Spears and Lindsey Lohan) were treated both as teenagers and as young women. This attitude of "fair game" means that even innocent moments like a dance or a drink are not safe and could become weaponized against them at any moment.
But where the film impressed me the most, honestly, was in its perfect ending. And I do mean perfect. Everything both spoken and unspoken, perfectly played by Hepburn and Peck. It may be one of the best endings to a film, period.
My only complaint (and this applies to many screwball-type comedy things) was that I'm a total fuddy-duddy about stuff that's dangerous or disrespectful to innocent bystanders. So some of the behaviors that were meant to be funny didn't quite land for me. Someone driving an out-of-control vehicle through a crowd and destroying property just isn't something I find entertaining, and it kind of makes me annoyed with the characters. I've always felt this way, and I know it's kind of a silly reaction, but there it is. Anyway, thankfully most of the comedy isn't of that variety, so this was only a minor complaint.
Great pick!
Roman Holiday, 1953
Young princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) is on a European tour. With every moment scheduled and every word she speaks in public scripted, Ann is beginning to crack under the strain. One night, she impulsively runs away and ends up in the apartment of news reporter Joe (Gregory Peck). When Joe realizes he has a princess sleeping on his couch, he recruits his photographer friend Irving (Eddie Albert) to secretly document as he takes Ann on an adventure around Rome.
I love it when you think you know something about a classic and then it totally surprises you. This was a really great pick, and it honestly hadn't been a priority for me to see on my own.
I think that what makes this film so great is the way that it intelligently leans into the elements that could be off-putting and going in unexpected directions.
To begin with, it was really refreshing to see a romantic comedy where the female lead is at the forefront of a lot of the physical comedy (I know there are others, but the ones I've seen recently have used the female lead as more of the character who reacts). Whether it's Hepburn trying to retrieve an errant high heeled shoe, or the princess elegantly failing to climb a spiral staircase, there's an ease and innocent charm about the comedy. Peck makes for a great straight man--especially in the sequences in the apartment where he must navigate the barely-conscious Ann from the bed to the couch and eventually back to the bed.
I also appreciated the way that the film manages to navigate the general ickiness of the situation. Joe is appropriately gentlemanly in their initial encounter (not undressing an intoxicated person--correct choice, Joe!), but in the second half of the film he lies to Ann, has her secretly photographed, and encourages certain behaviors knowing that he plans to exploit them for money. There's also a significant age and maturity gap between the two, and Ann's child-like mannerisms are so naive that she doesn't feel at all like an adult. But, wonderfully, the film makes this dynamic part of the point. Ann is the way she is because she has been relentlessly coddled and sheltered. Her naivete isn't innate to her character, it is a result of the way she has been treated her entire life.
And that's kind of the brilliance of the film. The romance itself isn't the point--the romance is the means to the end of a kind of self-realization for the character of Ann. Her character growth is prioritized over the "will they, won't they" aspect of the film. It also, interestingly, makes Joe's betrayal of her trust all the more potent. The stakes aren't just about whether or not he's a good guy and they'll end up together--the stakes are about whether this young woman figuring out who she is will be punished or not.
There's also a contemporary relevance to the plot itself. Late in the film, when Joe is having doubts about the plan, Irving tells him "Princesses are always fair game." Over the last year or so, there's been a lot of reflection about the way that certain celebrities (specifically people like Brittney Spears and Lindsey Lohan) were treated both as teenagers and as young women. This attitude of "fair game" means that even innocent moments like a dance or a drink are not safe and could become weaponized against them at any moment.
But where the film impressed me the most, honestly, was in its perfect ending. And I do mean perfect. Everything both spoken and unspoken, perfectly played by Hepburn and Peck. It may be one of the best endings to a film, period.
My only complaint (and this applies to many screwball-type comedy things) was that I'm a total fuddy-duddy about stuff that's dangerous or disrespectful to innocent bystanders. So some of the behaviors that were meant to be funny didn't quite land for me. Someone driving an out-of-control vehicle through a crowd and destroying property just isn't something I find entertaining, and it kind of makes me annoyed with the characters. I've always felt this way, and I know it's kind of a silly reaction, but there it is. Anyway, thankfully most of the comedy isn't of that variety, so this was only a minor complaint.
Great pick!