(24 hours cavorting around Rome with someone who looks like Gregory Peck - where do I sign up?)
CAST: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Tullio Carminati, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli, Paolo Borboni, Alfredo Rizzo, Laura Solari.
DIRECTOR: William Wyler
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some damn good reasons to play hookie from your royal duties with a handsome American journalist (ahem) while in Rome - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: While on a diplomatic tour of Italy, Her Royal Highness Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) finds out firsthand that the life of an aristocratic blue-blood may not be all that and a bag of chips. For starters, Princess Ann has to contend with the following harsh realities: (1) when you are a royal, you have to wear a heavy-ass tiara/crown on your head all the time (ouch); (2) when you are a royal, you have a whole staff of flunkies breathing down your damn neck and restricting your behavior all the time; (3) when you are a royal you have to stand straight all the time; and (4) when you are a royal you have to dance with a lot of other royals who look like The Crypt-Keeper - all the goddamn time. I mean, where are all the kings, princes, and dukes who look like Russell Crowe, Chris Evans, and Raoul Bova? WHERE!?!?!
Anyway, the Great Royal Italian Tour eventually hits Rome - and Princess Ann cannot take this “mind-your-P’s-and-Q’s” shit anymore. Fed up with her “gilded-cage” existence and wanting some excitement, Annie (as we will refer to her from now on because ‘Princess Ann’ is just too much to type over and over again) finally busts out of her royal chambers one evening after seeing the vibrant city of Bella Roma right outside the palace. She sneaks out to see how the other 99.9% live, intending to sneak back in just a few hours before any of her flunkies or the palace Gestapo (who might actually be her flunkies) notice she’s missing. Anyone expecting Annie to stick to her schedule or go unnoticed for long needs to take a remedial course in Rom-Com-Formula. Nope, she runs into smooth American reporter Joe Bradley, who is based in Rome (lucky fucking dog - can we trade cities?), and before you know it, he is giving her exactly what she wanted: a whirlwind 24-hour adventure through The Eternal City - and my future home. Ahem.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Joe Bradley. If all journalists looked like him, the world would be a better place - no matter how much bad news they reported.
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Audrey and Greg, all the way. With a nice dose of Eddie Albert as Greg’s photographer buddy, Ivan.
MOST INTENTIONALLY SWEET SCENE: Take your pick: Annie and Joe zipping around Rome in a scooter. Annie and Joe at the Trevi Fountain. Annie and Joe at the Spanish Steps. Annie and Joe at the Mouth of Truth. Annie and Joe at the dance by the Tiber River. It’s all sweet.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY SWEET SCENE: When Joe and Ivan give Annie all their pics from their “adventure” at the very end. Sob. Choke. Sniffle…
HOTTEST SCENE: Gotta be the scene where Annie takes control of the scooter - and trashes Roma Centro with it. Just call it “Royals Gone Wild.” And, of course, the part at the Mouth of Truth…
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: So… how long before the Royal Flunkies discover that Princess Annie has flown the coop? How will they get her back? Will she even bother coming back? Or is she going to have such a great time with Joe that she’ll give them all The One-Finger Salute and stay in Italy for good as a commoner? Is Joe just in it for the hot story that will surely sell a million newspapers? Or does he really care for Annie? Will he re-think his journalistic ambitions and put her before his success? Or will he write the story anyway? We’ll see. Personally, if I was the Princess, there’s no way you could get me to leave the Rome city limits - unless of course we’re going to Capri to have a beach party. YEAH!!!
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “ROMAN HOLIDAY”: If you are a fan of classic romantic comedies - ones that are more about simple charms, sweetness, and the innocence of love - and not about THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY-type of gross-out jokes. Not that there’s anything wrong with those.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “ROMAN HOLIDAY”: If you don’t like classic black-and-white movies. Or classic romantic comedies that paved the way for modern versions of the same story. If so, you are so missing out. Your loss…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I don’t know if it is appropriate or respectful enough to say that Audrey Hepburn was the “Julia Roberts” of her day (perhaps it should be said that Julia Roberts is the “Audrey Hepburn“ of hers). But I don’t know how else to describe to modern audiences just how dynamic an effect Hepburn had on the art of cinema during her prime. Like Roberts, Hepburn practically swept out of nowhere and charmed the entire world with a unique blend of charm, intelligence, emotion, and humor. So much so that many critics said the same thing about both of them: “My God. Who is she and where has she been all this time?“ Needless to say, both Hepburn and Roberts were real finds.
Just as it is often difficult to accurately verbalize Roberts’ appeal, it is hard to capture Hepburn’s charisma in words. It is best experienced - through their films. And their strongest films are the ones that first showcased their gifts to the globe. Just as PRETTY WOMAN perfectly introduced Roberts to the whole world in all her leading-woman glory, so too did ROMAN HOLIDAY accomplish the same for Hepburn - and presented her as a cinematic force-of-nature. And just as Hepburn was rewarded for a 1953 Best Actress Oscar for her performance, so too was Roberts graced with a 1990 Best Actress nomination for her work.
ROMAN HOLIDAY’s screenplay also won a 1953 Best Screenplay Oscar - and with good reason: it pretty much set the standard for all the “odd-couple-ticking-clock” romances and romantic comedies that would follow throughout the years. You know what I mean: two people meet unexpectedly, click wonderfully, but must part very soon and face the fact that they may never see each other again. Without this ground-breaking film, we may not have seen BRIEF ENCOUNTER, PRETTY WOMAN, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, LOST IN TRANSLATION, BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET, LAST CHANCE HARVEY, NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, and most recently, the breathtaking and unforgettable WEEKEND (review coming for Valentine’s Day).
ROMAN HOLIDAY was also a forerunner of the “conspiracy-rom-com”. This is the kind of film in which the protagonist (or protagonists) engages in role-playing and deception for their own reasons - only to have things fall apart when they fall in love unexpectedly. We’ve seen this in modern films like JUST ONE OF THE GUYS, TOOTSIE, SECRET ADMIRER, ROXANNE, HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS, TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, CHASING LIBERTY, MONTE CARLO, and JUST GO WITH IT. In this film, Joe Bradley must hide the fact that he is a journalist and pretend to be just an expatriate so as not to scare off Princess Ann. His intent is to win her confidence so he can write a soul-penetrating profile on her - which will advance his career. Instead, he falls in love with her and must choose between his ambitions and doing the right thing.
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn have a real spark between them here. We’ve talked about chemistry before and how crucial it is to romantic comedies. In ROMAN HOLIDAY, the chemistry between Peck and Hepburn is perfect. Without it, the film would not have been the classic that it is. Another pair of actors might have fumbled the connection, but Peck and Hepburn’s interactions have a genuine sweetness and sensuality to them - with the somewhat cynical Joe touched and transformed by Ann’s open innocence and energy. Watching Ann take pleasure from mundane things like walking around unrecognized, gawking at shop windows, gobbling up gelato, eating at an outdoor café, or tooling around Rome in a scooter, is a delight. We are basically charmed along with Joe.
Eddie Albert lends nice support as Joe’s photographer friend and colleague Ivan. Peck and Albert have a brotherly chemistry that sells their characters’ relationship. Their best scene together is when they meet at the café with Ann present - and Joe keeps trying to hush Albert so he won’t recognize Ann and spill the beans that they are journalists. It’s a priceless comedic set-piece that Peck and Albert pull of hilariously. Their final farewell scene with Ann at the palace is also one to remember - coming full-circle from their first informal meeting at the café which was much more light and fun. It’s hard not get a little sad as we watch these “Three Musketeers” get broken up for good.
Another aspect of the film that comes across as almost a character in its own right is the setting itself: Rome. Seen in black-and-white, the Eternal City truly takes on an ethereal quality, making it dream-like and almost like a fairy tale. You would think that stripping away the color from the city would take away its vibrancy. If anything, the black-and-white cinematography somehow makes it even more alive. I spent three years living two hours south of Rome in Naples, and am very familiar with the city. Seeing it in this 1953 movie doesn’t seem all that different from seeing in the 21st century. I suppose that’s a testament to Rome’s timeless beauty - and ROMAN HOLIDAY showcases it wonderfully.
Ultimately, ROMAN HOLIDAY is a timeless thing of beauty, itself. Watching it again after all these years, it still has the power to charm. Some folks watching it for the first time may think it’s not that big of a deal because of all the other films that followed with the same premise. Let me respectfully remind you that, as with Alfred Hitchcock’s films and the Suspense/Thriller Genre, ROMAN HOLIDAY did it first and paved the way for the Modern Romantic Comedy. Give credit where credit is due…
In closing, a tribute to the late, great Audrey Hepburn - graced by Lifehouse’s “Crazy For This Girl”. Audrey Hepburn: the definition of “breathtaking”…
