[.ca] The Audrey Hepburn Collection

Elegance:
Audrey Hepburn was -- and remains -- the perfect illustration of elegance and sophistication in Hollywood. A lot of actresses have tried to imitate her look, but they couldn't manage the same onscreen grace and skill. And the "Audrey Hepburn Collection" brings together three of the films that helped shape that image. Okay, they're not her most impressive. But all three are all funny, charming, romantic movies, and they are also the ones that Hepburn is still best known for doing. Bored young Princess Ann (Hepburn) goes on a "Roman Holiday," when she gets upset, is sedated by a doctor, and has an odd reaction to it. Soon she has wandered out of the palace and into the streets of Rome, where she is found by struggling American journalist Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). Since she appears to be drunk, he takes her home. When Joe realizes that he has the missing princess in his apartment, he takes her on a whirlwind tour of Rome, with his pal taking photographs for a full article. But he doesn't count on falling in love with Ann. And Ann has a tough choice to make -- should she give up her royal life and stay with Joe, or fulfil her responsibilities as a princess? "Sabrina" (Hepburn) is the daughter of the chauffeur at the palatial Larabee estate. She's also in love with the ne'er-do-well second son, David (William Holden), but is sent away to Paris to attend a cooking school. And with the help of a fairy godcount, she gains sophistication, ambition, and confidence... as well as the ability to make a souffle properly ("A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven!"). When she returns to the Larabees' estate, David is instantly smitten. But even if marrying a chauffeur's daughter were okay with his family, his brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) has arranged a business marriage for David. And to make sure David doesn't run off with Sabrina, Linus begins wooing her too... and falling in love for real. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a daily ritual for Holly Golightly, a social butterfly who hosts parties, entertains drunken men, and dreams of owning a horse farm in Mexico. When Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into a neighboring apartment -- courtesy of his rich patroness -- he is instantly enchanted by the ditzy, sweet-natured Holly. But for all Holly's fun, Paul starts to realize that all is not well with her. She's desperate to marry rich, visits a notorious gangster, and hides that she was an illiterate teen bride. As Holly's life starts to deteriorate, Paul sets out to show her what her life will be like without real love. Yes, they are all romantic comedies, completely unrelated except that all three have Audrey Hepburn. But all three are fun, well-written ("You can't live here! I live here!" "Hi, neighbor!"), and charming. They're good for daydreaming as well, since they take place in chic apartments, palatial mansions and the streets of Rome. The movies are definitely romantic -- one theme they share is love that doesn't come easily, whether the problem is one of the people involved, parents or overprotective staff. There's also slapstick comedy (like David sitting down on champagne flutes and injuring his butt), and more sophisticated comedy (like when Anna and Joe pretend that they were speeding on their way to get married). Unlike many actresses, Hepburn's best-known roles were NOT all alike, nor were they all carbon copies of her. Even when we shouldn't really like the characters, she gave them warmth, sensitivity and likability that can't be faked. And she could be very funny too -- it's hard not to laugh when Holly yells "Timber!", as a drunken guest keels over. The Audrey Hepburn Collection is the ideal trio of movies for people who are just falling in love, or who appreciate a good romantic comedy. Charming, cute and sweet.