Service: Pluto TV (free with ads)
Show Title: “Roman Holiday”
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The Golden Age of cinema is known for many things, but above all its popularity is due to one common theme: love. This Valentine’s Day viewers participating in the endless streaming services scroll will be met with a number of romantic comedies, particularly those of the 1990s and early 2000s genre. I encourage you take a step back, look beyond the countless cheesy but beloved depictions and instead travel back to the Golden Age of melodrama and slow burns with “Roman Holiday” (1953) starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.
Gregory Peck portrays Joe Bradley, a journalist down on his luck who is presented with a career changing story after taking in a mystery “drunk” woman overnight. The following day he discovers the mysterious woman in his apartment is actually a princess (Audrey Hepburn) who has gone missing during her European tour. Once he comes to this realization, he learns a story like this could be big enough to get him out of Rome and finally back to New York City. The only problem? Princess Ann tells him she is someone else and leaves to see Rome and enjoy the simplicities of life as a normal person would with a drastic haircut as her cover. Bradley, in a panic, scrambles to follow her and ends up being her tour guide after some “lucky” timing which sends the pair on a holiday neither will ever forget.
This is not the first film of Peck’s, or Hepburn’s, that I have seen, nor will it be the last. I watched Gregory Peck’s phenomenal performance as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) and saw Audrey Hepburn do her best with the script that is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) as Holly Golightly. Regardless of the quality of script, Peck and Hepburn have gravitational pulls as actors like no other which draws you in and leaves you wanting more by Roman Holiday’s conclusion. They are true class acts and even classier actors.
This Valentine’s Day and every other day, cherish the ones close to you, but remember you do not need a holiday to partake and enjoy in life’s greatest pleasures. Each day is a gift, so savor it.
Rating: 9/10