Breakfast at Tiffany's review

 Number 490 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1961 romantic-comedy 'Breakfast at Tiffany's.'

Based on Truman Capote's novella of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany's follows the free-spirited Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn.) She is a vibrant and independent socialise who falls in love with her neighbour - the struggling writer Paul Varjack (George Peppard.)

Firstly, let's address the Mickey Rooney shaped elephant in the room. He plays Holly's landlord Mr Yunioshi. For this role, Rooney wore prosthetics to look Japanese. This received both historical and contemporary criticism for being a racist characterisation of the Japanese, and East-Asians in general. As someone with East Asian heritage, I didn't find this offensive so much as I found it annoying. 

In fact, if there was an Oscar for most irritating performance ever Mickey Rooney would have surely won. Mr Yunioshi was a one-dimensional, terrible character. Rooney seemed to spend all his time shouting at the top of his voice in an accent that quickly grated on me. I think he was supposed to be some type of comic relief, but there was nothing funny about his performance.

If anything, I was more grossed-out at the revelation that Holly was only fourteen when she married her first husband Doc Golightly (Buddy Ebsen.) She is only nineteen in the film. And this is something that the film completely glosses over. But then again this was the sixties, long before political correctness ever became a thing. 

That notwithstanding, I did enjoy Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a wonderfully subtle film with plenty of laughs and a charming performance from Hepburn. She imbued the ditzy Golightly with enough charisma to make her a thoroughly likeable character. 

Director Blake Edwards also allowed for plenty of improvisation which helped the comedy to thrive. For the famous party scene, he let the champagne and food flow freely meaning, gave the cast little direction, permitting them to produce some authentic and hilarious moments.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is also well-known for its signature song 'Moon River.' Written specifically for Audrey Hepburn's limited range, it was the perfect accompaniment for the film. Suitably romantic and understated, it went onto rightly win the Oscar for the Best Original song. When a studio executive suggested it be cut in the film, Audrey Hepburn shot back with "over my dead body." If it wasn't for her strong convictions, we would have been robbed this gentle song.

The Mickey Rooney yellowface controversy aside, I did very much enjoy Breakfast at Tiffany's.