Sabrina

I have a sentimental attachment to Sabrina (1954). I fell desperately in love with Audrey Hepburn during that first viewing, the incredibly beautiful, winsome and charming girl with the pretty brown hair, beautiful doe eyes, irresistible velvet voice and heart-melting smile.

Good thing for memories, huh? As much as I loved Sabrina the first time around, it really hasn't held up to rewatches. Like most of Billy Wilder's comedies, it's an awkward mixture of clever ideas and superfluous silliness, with a plot that doesn't make much sense. If it weren't for Audrey's charms I might rate it a lot lower than I do.

Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) is the daughter of the chaffeur (John Williams) of the Larabees, a wealthy family of New York business magnates. Older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-working businessman, while younger brother David (William Holden) is a dissolute playboy. Sabrina nearly kills herself over her unrequited feelings for David, but a trip to Paris transforms her into the "most sophisticated girl" in New York. David falls for Sabrina, but Linus begins courting her himself, hoping David will marry the daughter of a business partner. Things inevitably become complicated when Linus falls for Sabrina himself.

I must admit that I'm ambivalent towards Billy Wilder. While most of his dramas are solid and perfectly-crafted (especially Sunset Blvd.), his comedies are more suspect. Wilder is certainly capable of arch-wit and cleverness, but also has a weakness for embarrassingly low-brow humor. Witness Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck's interminable doubles-act in Stalag 17 and Jack Lemmon's escapades in Some Like it Hot. Even his better comedies (Some Like it Hot, Ninotchka if we can credit screenwriting efforts) suffer from slapdash plotting and awkward tonal shifts.

Sabrina has all of this in abundance. For every clever gag (the bits with the champagne glasses) and biting line of dialogue there's a goofy one that doesn't come off. A class warfare theme is only gently suggested, though Wilder's penchant for black comedy comes through in gags about attempted suicide and economic exploitation. The plot is rather thin, with a rushed ending just doesn't cut it for me; Hepburn has plenty of chemistry with Bill Holden (not surprising given their off-screen attachment) but little with Bogart, so the result is unsatisfying. Sabrina is charming in moments but never quite gels as a story.

Audrey Hepburn owns the show, completely outshining her co-stars. Sabrina isn't too much different from Princess Ann in Roman Holiday, but she's perfectly crafted to Hepburn's strengths: a charming girl, just coming of age, unsure of herself and trapped in romantic entanglements beyond her control. Sabrina's an agent of the plot but she comes across as endearingly naive and optimistic rather than stupid, which is much to Hepburn and Wilder's credit. And of course she looks wonderful in a stylish Edith Head ensemble.

Humphrey Bogart is miscast as a stuffy businessman. Bogart gets some nice banter with Bill Holden, but he's just not convincing as a Lothario charming enough to woo Sabrina away from David. William Holden is good in a thankless role; his lecherous playboy is a plot pawn, the butt of gags and Linus's family business ventures, and he doesn't even get the girl. John Williams (Dial M for Murder) provides a touch of class as Sabrina's disapproving father. The rest of the cast doesn't register much.

Sabrina, ultimately, is a rather middling entry on Billy Wilder's resume. It's charming enough, but ultimately shallow. But hey, there is Audrey Hepburn at her most adorable, so it's not a complete loss.