One of the biggest
pop culture events of 2018 so far has been the marriage of American actress
Meghan Markle to Prince Harry of the British royal family. From what I casually
glimpsed on the news (and on Last Week
Tonight with John Oliver) it looked like a beautiful ceremony, but one has
to wonder if Meghan Markle really knows what she has gotten herself into. Given
the scrutiny the royal family lives under, years from now the new duchess may
want to do what Audrey Hepburn’s fictional princess does in the William Wyler
classic Roman Holiday (1953) and run
away for a day.
When I found this
movie on Netflix I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was for various reasons.
For one it allows you to visit all of the tourist hotspots in Rome without
having to get on airplane. Then there is the historical significance of this
being Audrey Hepburn’s breakout role. I also liked the movie’s reminder that
royals are, yes, just like us. Sure their jobs are outdated and some would
argue useless, but like with every job they sometimes work under a lot of
pressure. It certainly doesn’t help they have paparazzi trying to film them every
moment of every day. Upon Googling Meghan Markle’s name one of the first
articles that popped up is one about her mother taking a dog for a walk in L.A.
I mean, why?
For Hepburn’s
Princess Ann the pressure of the strict daily schedules, the press conferences
and the countless charity events have become too much. While on an official
visit in Rome she gets close to a nervous breakdown and instead of giving her
time off, her entourage decide to inject her with a sedative. Unfortunately the
dosage was not enough to stop her from escaping her embassy in the dead of
night and collapsing on a park bench. In another movie this could be the
beginning of a thriller, but the man who finds her is nice enough to give her a
ride to his apartment without ever doing anything inappropriate.
This man it turns
out is Joe Bradley, an American expatriate reporter played with the right balance
of ambition and decency by Gregory Peck. Bradley is in trouble with his boss for
lying about arriving late to an assignment and when he finally realizes who is
sleeping in his apartment he of course figures he can make up for it with a
career-changing story. It’s a pretty simple plan: give the princess a tour of
Rome, have his photographer buddy Irving (Eddie Albert) take pictures of their
day and then write the article. Of course he also has to make sure she never
figures out he knows she is a princess, hide the fact he works for the press
and make sure no one in the street recognizes her.
This is all
highly improbable, but it certainly makes for a feel-good comedy. It also helps
that the two leads are very good in their respective roles. As the princess,
Hepburn is believable playing a sheltered person who is enjoying her first day
of freedom in a long time. Seeing her having the time of her life while riding a
scooter in the streets of Rome with Joe in the back is one of cinema’s classic
scenes. Since Joe is also having a good time during this vacation day he begins
to care less about his career and more about his feelings for Ann.
When you read
about celebrities, especially actual royalties, you tend to forget they are
real people with real problems. Like everyone they get stressed and sometimes
they would like to enjoy a day of peace. Despite the fact the main character is
a princess, Roman Holiday is not a
fairy tale, but a simple tale of two people having a great time together for 24
hours. It makes for a great film to be enjoyed during the summer, and I suspect
there are quite a few royals who might enjoy watching it after a long day.
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