Review of Roman Holiday (1953) by Chris M — 09 Nov 2010

The greatest romantic comedy of all time.

"Roman Holiday" is about a princess (played by Audrey Hepburn) who is getting tired of being someone she isn't. She's tired of the formalities of being royalty, tired of acting "dignified" in front of the crowds, and, basically, tired of being a princess. One night she has an emotional breakdown and receives sleeping medicine from the doctor to calm her down. She runs away from her home and, in a daze from the medicine, falls asleep out on the street, only to be found by a news reporter (played by Gregory Peck). He takes her in for the night and when she wakes up they go to the city. She tries to pretend that she ran away from school, but Peck's character already knows who she is and is going to wheedle his way into an exclusive interview. He asks her to spend the day with him and they go out and do everything that she's always wanted to do, but hasn't had the chance to due to her duties.

The two leads are both legends of American cinema. This is one of Audrey's earlier films, and her first starring role. I believe this is the best performance of her career. She, rightly, won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture Actress, BAFTA Award for Best British Actress, and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.

The movie is hilarious, but it really makes you love the leads.

It also has one of my favorite endings of all time. It's really sad, but absolutely perfect.