Alright everyone, after what may be the longest bout of flakiness known to woman..well maybe not really...this blog is back. And with a pearl studded vengeance. After such a lengthy hiatus let's get right down to business for what is on tap today: Breakfast at Tiffany's. Now listen, while glamorous Audrey has adorned the wall of many a college dorm room in some way or another, I have always been a little miffed as to why, aside from her wonderful rhinestone head adornments and sweet eye-mask, everyone loves Holly Golightly so much. Watching this movie as a littler gal I remember my sister and I being a little confused as to what all the hype was about. I mean...she leaves her Cat in the rain!?!? Rude.
However, after re-watching this movie as a semi-grown adult on my sick day from work (because frankly, that is what you are supposed to do when you are sick) I really got around to re-evaluating Holly. Is she just like the rest of us, trying to stand on her own two feet, making a way for herself whatever way she can (by attempting to marry Brazilian statesmen), working for the life she always has dreamed of? Or is she just the big dummy my 10 year old self thought she was?
There are certainly things that you undeniably love about her right from the start of the film. She has a small collection of kitten heels, can traipse around in floor length gowns, and somehow manages to afford living in a spacious apartment on the Upper East Side while not really doing anything during the day like someone else we know. These qualities naturally speak to those things that every independent girl wants but are pretty un-achievable in real life due to things like...paying your rent. You get the impression that although you're not really sure what she does, Holly has her ducks in a sort of tangled row and knows how to lead them around town.
But its about half way through the movie that you start to get past that and wonder if Holly isn't just a hot mess who mistreats her only true friend/male-escort/writer friend, Paul/Fred, to keep up with her dream of a glamorous lifestyle. Sure she is afraid that she may actually grow close to someone who will find out that she really is just a "tortured soul", or that she could be in love and be "caged" by that and unable to traipse around New York and still manage to somehow not pay rent (although they do that together anyhow...). But wouldn't you think that someone who has been on her own for such a very long time would be able to evaluate these things a little more closely and realize what she is missing out on? Independent woman-hood aside, there is something to be said for a fellow who gives up his life as a lucrative male-escort to put up with your shit, and loves you regardless of the fact that you're a little bit loony (and you have a "husband" and "kids"?).
So what do you think? Is Holly Golightly just trying to maintain her identity as an independent, adult, female and I am missing the point? Or is she just a hot mess who needs to get a grip?
P.S. As much as I love Audrey in her typical Breakfast at Tiffany's get-up, this is one of my favorites from the movie (below). I mean really, is that a towel on her head? And somehow she is still stylish...
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