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BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY's is an exciting and entertaining romantic comedy about a charismatic girl from high society and an unrealized writer. Film is loosely based on Truman Capote's novella of the same name.

A young and elegantly dressed lady walks around and looking in a shop windows in an early morning. After looking into the shop's windows, she strolls home. Outside her apartment, she fends off her date from the disastrous night before. Later, she meets, a pleasant and somewhat confused writer, the new tenant in her building. They develop a special relationship. She wants to marry a rich man. However, her new friend slowly falls in love with her. Both must give up of some important goals in their lives for the sake of love...

This is an unconvincing and provocative story with a touch of an inappropriate comedy, romance and melodrama. However, this distorted reality has a certain depth. The story of a nobody's-but everyone's girl is, given her past, a naive and painful at the same time. A quiet and insecure writer with an obvious problem of writer's block and hands of a beautiful and rich older lady around his neck enters in her life. It is a quite confusing situation in life.

Costume design is exquisite, the song "Moon River" is haunting as a reflection of fears, turmoil and friendship.

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly / Lula Mae Barnes is an irresistible, irritating, bumbling and gentle woman with two names. She constantly flees away from itself. Holly is "the real fake" and "a wild thing" at the same time. Lula Mae is a person from whom Holly escapes. Ms. Hepburn is a beautiful and gentle actress, exceptional comedienne, who is an ideal choice for this role. George Peppard as Paul Varjak is often set aside as an observer. He was not the right choice for this role. George just can not follow a "twisting" step of the unreliable Holly. Mr. Edwards has tried to equalize their characters. They are unhappy, unfulfilled and they differ from some moral standards. Their relationship is based on an unconditional friendship. There is no a chemistry or love sparks. He has, in an elusive and unreliable girl, found an inspiration in his life. She has found a man who will, regardless of her excesses and lies, always be beside her and lend her a hand when she falls.

Their support are Patricia Neal (Mrs. Emily Eustace "2E" Failenson) as a cool rich woman with a beautiful smile and a magnetic gaze. Martin Balsam as O.J. Berman is very funny as a Hollywood agent. Mickey Rooney as I.Y. Yunioshi is an inappropriate and hackneyed cliché.

This is an odd collection of turbulent and false feelings, which is a comic and melodramatic at the same time, and even occasionally pleasant to watch.

Checking out both the original novel and the Wikipedia article on Breakfast At Tiffany's I was surprised to see how different Truman Capote's vision of this story was. Capote who wanted Marilyn Monroe cast as Holly Golightly lived to see Audrey Hepburn make his literary creation one of her best cinematic creations. I think given Marilyn's track record for behavioral problems on film sets, Capote, Blake Edwards the director, and everyone else concerned with Breakfast At Tiffany's probably dodged a bullet.

Capote's story is set in the Forties and the film is contemporary 1961 when it was filmed. There's no real plot to it, Capote did a character study and so is this. It's about two people and the fascination that George Peppard's character develops for the unconventionality of Holly Golightly as Hepburn essays her.

Hepburn is the kept woman of a cross section of the male species and Peppard is the boy toy of another woman who rents in their apartment, Patricia Neal. Neal who would win her Oscar the following year for Hud has her character as curiously underdeveloped. It's the main weakness of Breakfast At Tiffany's.

The strength is of course Audrey Hepburn who took Capote's character completely over and it's her vision of the story that we see when the film is broadcast. She's an amoral minx who in the end realizes that her life is really meaningless.

Breakfast At Tiffany's won two Oscars both for Henry Mancini for Best Musical Scoring and Best Original Song for Moon River. That song is best known for Andy Williams's rendition, but there are also superb recordings by Frank Sinatra and Tony Martin. Hepburn got a nomination for Best Actress and the film was also nominated for Best Art&Set Decoration for a color film and Best Screenplay adapted from another medium, in this case Capote's novella.

Considering all the changes made, maybe the credit should have read inspired by Truman Capote's work. In any event this film belongs in the top rank of the works of Audrey Hepburn.

There are movies that are loved because of the cast, the music and style, not for the interesting plot, wonderful characterizations or snappy dialogue. This famous movie, Breakfast at Tiffany, has been lovingly regarded for years because of the wonderful Audrey Hepburn and the talented Henry Mancini. Moon River is one of the best movie songs ever. But there is, surprisingly, not much to say overall about this movie.

Two prostitutes become friends. George Peppards' role could have been played by anyone breathing and Micky Rooney was too ridiculous to be funny. The always superb Patricia Neal did not have much to do. Only Buddy Epsen moved me.

There are a few noteworthy scenes. But, Breakfast at Tiffany's is the best example I've seen of a lovely cake with a big hole in the middle.

A lot has been said about this film, so I won't repeat too much of it. I just thought the following points stood out for me as wonderful:

-The telephone Holly keeps in a suitcase so she won't hear it. Holly. Ahhhh... Holly. Like some kind of female opposite of James Bond (stick with me here), men all want her, women all want to be her. We need to see *more* eccentric women in leading roles, as opposed to the dull boring stodge of overpaid 'sex symbols' like Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman who can be pretty or serious but never interesting.

-George Peppard in his finest role, and brilliant it is too. It's a real shock to my generation that has been more accustomed to seeing him tragically underused on trash like the A-Team. It made me want to see more of his early films, and wonder what happened in the intervening years (alcohol, apparently :-( ). An icon of male sensitivity, and there are few enough of them around too.

-That chap who sells them the telephone dialler in Tiffany's. A tiny role that achieves its aims perfectly and makes life seem better, which is what you want really.

Many have said Tiffany's is too saccharine and cheerful, but I think it actually hits the perfect balance of cynicism and sentiment. There are moments of intense depression (which people often forget) as well as hopeful optimism, and these two working together are what make the film so uplifting and memorable.

Even now 57 years after its original release, Breakfast At Tiffany's remains a charming love story between two hustlers of sorts. Audrey Hepburn is not the Holy Golightly that Truman Capote intended, she couldn't be but she was Audrey Hepburn in all of her 1961 glory. Amazing how it still works that Audrey Hepbun touch. George Peppard is gorgeous but impenetrable. Mickey Rooney, unforgivable. Henry Mancini, opportune but. strangely enough the character that fascinated me the most in my latest viewing is Patricia Neal. I would love to see a full movie about that woman. She exudes sensuality and smartness. Blake Edwards concocts a lighter fare from Capote's book and as it happens, it's still very much alive and surprisingly relevant.