Review of Roman Holiday (1953) by Mirabella 1 — 01 Feb 2010
Nowadays, when someone says "romantic comedy", names like Jennifer Lopez or Sandra Bullock pop into one's head, but most of these actresses owe a huge debt to Audrey Hepburn, whose radiant beauty and innocent charm led her to win the oscar.
The story by Dalton Trumbo (who also won an oscar), is of a young princess who one day tires of her life of duty to her crown and runs away for a daylong holiday in Rome. Gregory Peck stars as an American journalist who looks to take advantage of the situation when the princess winds up in his life.
When the two wind up falling in love, it's a little bit of a surprise, and the bittersweet ending has a touch of the european cinema about it. While the story might not be revolutionary, it is well told, and the relationship between the characters is very sweet.
And funny, too. So many romantic comedies today fail in the humor department, but Roman Holiday is still actually pretty funny without talking down to the audience. Films like this live or die by the likeability of their leading actors.
With Audrey Hepburn, they could've slapped just about anything up on the screen. It's just all the more wonderful that such a good movie goes along with the great performers.
This review of Roman Holiday (1953) was written by Mirabella 1 on 01 Feb 2010.
Roman Holiday has generally received very positive reviews.
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