Do the people with the Breakfast at Tiffany's posters on their dorm walls realize what the movie is about?

Repost from my TCM fan blog


Breakfast at Tiffany's is a movie about a prostitute.



Don't get me wrong. It's a great move. I love it. I own a copy of the script. I picked an orange tabby rescue cat as a pet because of my deep affinity for that movie. But that doesn't negate the fact that it's a movie about a prostitute.

This isn't that surprising. After all, Hollywood loves making movies about prostitutes. Pretty Woman is the modern example but there is Irma la Douce and Taxi Driver and toner of other films that involve the world's oldest profession. But Breakfast at Tiffany's is odd because of the fact that most people seem to not realize that Holly is a call girl. Even people who have never seen Pretty Woman can tell you the profession that Julia Roberts plays in the film. But Breakfast at Tiffany's seems to stay clear of that associations. As a result you can find posters of Holly Golightly in her little black dress and tiara at Target or Wal-Mart or any other store frequented by people who would never think of glorifying that type of business.


I've talked to many people who consider themselves to be fans of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" who deny that Holly was a member of the world's oldest profession. "She's a party girl" they say. "They paid her for company" they'll assert and then justify that all the money she was given was just cab fair and powder room trips.

Uh huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

The novella that was the basis for the film was more overt with Holly's profession, but even before I'd read Capote's story it was obvious to me. I was 13 the first time I saw the movie and at the end I turned to my mother and pointed out that this so-called greatest love story ever on film was about a hooker and a gigolo. But the fact that Holly and Paul were painted in shades of gray only makes their love more interesting to me. When two perfect people fall in love it's science fiction since there are no perfect people. But watching deeply flawed individuals find a way to fit the broken pieces of themselves together... that is what makes a great romantic movie. It gives hopes to the rest of us.


Part of the problem is that so few people who have latched onto the iconic image of Holly, one that you can find on t-shirts and art prints, have actually seen the film. Like the photo of Marilyn standing on the subway grate the picture of Audrey Hepburn as Holly was able to transcend film and become a part of the popular culture. Removed of any connection to plot the image is one of glamor and fun. Which is ironic since the Holly of the film was a woman who was unable to live up to that same facade of the party girl flitting through life. In a movie all about the importance of choosing the sometimes messy substance of life (love, connection, responsibility) over style it is almost comical that the impression most people have of the film is the exact opposite.