Roman holiday

Though "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is the better-known work of the classic trio (thanks a bunch, Deep Blue Something), which includes "Sabrina," this one has always been my favorite. I'm tempted to use the word 'romp,' but I think modern cultural definitions would imply a much more base experience than this movie is. How about this: this movie will redefine your understanding of what a romp can be. And somehow despite all the laughs, still pulverize your heart into a gelatinous mush in the end.

"Roman Holiday" is a masterpiece. Clean and simple, it is a perfect tour through release and restraint, abandon and propriety, indulgence and duty. Any romantic comedy today has a predetermined ending, with the protagonist taking the life-altering journey from propriety or general high-strungedness to the unconstrained flailing of the gratification muscle. It's the 'let down your hair and take off your glasses and you will change from outcast to perfect' theory of plot. "Roman Holiday" is proof that refinement once existed in this genre, with even the moments of personal excess and silliness being conducted with a style and etiquette that would seem entirely foreign now. And the question of whether or how much lives are changed is mostly left up to the viewer to decide.

To be fair, when Princess Ann very, very briefly breaks from the script at the press conference at the end, giving something away to her public and partially answering that question of change for the viewer, it's always a breathtaking moment for me. After several viewings the only thing that's changed about the impact of that moment in the film is that I can feel the welling-up start slightly earlier. "Roman Holiday" is both fun and honest, and does for the viewer almost everything it does for its characters; expect hijinx, suspense, laughter, hope, redemption, and those pesky tears.

And hey, what film has done more to show the style and class inherent to scootering?

10/10