This odd romantic comedy tweaks the genre, jarringly for some viewers, but many of its scenes are memorable and pleasing. The formula ending -the rainy embrace over the rescued cat, the slow pullback and dreamy-melancholic theme music, may not satisfy those who insist it is illogical to assume love is eternal, especially when it involves a character with Holly's reeling eccentricity. Romantic comedy, however, is about love not sociology, and most viewers want to believe that such a rescue is possible. Because of the actors involved, many of the scenes have an afterglow: Holly-Hepburn singing her bitter-sweet theme song, the sad sophistication of Patricia Neal, John McGiver's tolerant and sentimental salesman (don't try this at your local Tiffany's!), even George Peppard's paternal-savior confusion. These virtues may not matter much to those who obsess over the film's weaknesses: the grating racial stereotype, the sometimes cloyingly cute-weirdness of Holly, the deviations from Capote's plot (who cares?). They may have some fair criticism here, but it should not cause anyone to miss BAT's several memorable moments and images.
Review of Breakfast at Tiffany's
