Roman Holiday (1953)

 William Wyler's "Roman Holiday"


While I'm not exactly fond of William Wyler's 1953 film "Roman Holiday," I do objectively recognize it as a transition point in Hollywood cinema. Starring the iconic Audrey Hepburn and the acclaimed Gregory Peck, "Roman Holiday" presents itself as somewhat of a post-screwball comedy. The screwball genre had its peak in the 1930s and fizzled out throughout the 1940s. In a new decade, it wasn't very fashionable to continue this style of comedy/romance, so these kinds of films began to transition over into the more modern conception of a 'romantic comedy.' 

While romantic comedies are not my favorite type of film, their presence in the industry is undoubtedly commercially relevant. I feel as though this style of film began with films like "Roman Holiday," that seemed to borrow a lot of comedic structures from the true and blue screwballs that came before. However, this new style of romantic comedy stripped away the sillier essences of the screwball, while keeping the 'fish out of water' and the 'two people from the opposite sides of the track fall in love' tropes. "Roman Holiday" maintains these topes, with Hepburn's princess character spending a day in Rome with a journalist, getting to actually 'live' like a normal person. 

All in all, I'm not a fan of the romantic comedy. However, I completely understand their appeal and their value in the industry. But by romantic comedy standards, "Roman Holiday" is perhaps one of the most iconic of them all.



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