Product: The Audrey Hepburn Story [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 3.0
Everybody loves Hepburn
Though IMDb.com raised the sort of factual issues that Hepburn fans would have been expected to have known about, the tenor of this biopic is generally warm. The daughter of a baroness, Hepburn's family is reduced to refugee status by the end of WWII, her father missing and presumed dead. Though living below their station, the Hepburn's are generally sunny about their existence. Audrey makes friends easily, but is a failure as a ballerina. She can't sing or dance, and when she gets her first major gig as Gigi, she can't even act. By then, the script settles on Hepburn's charm as her greatest asset. Never having seen Hepburn act, Collette is nevertheless sold on her stage presence. Actors and directors fawn over her, none knowing of her insecurities or a desire for a future involving a stable family life. Though her star rises further, Hepburn struggles to find that sense of security - eluding her in various misfired or purposelessly sabotaged romances (including one with James Hansen, heir to a fortune and founder of Hansen PLC; also William Holden from "Sabrina"). She turns typically to her mother, who happily enough is a supportive parent - aren't parents normally saddled with the blame in these biopics? Famous names and faces cross Audrey's path, but the story makes her the center of attention everywhere - it seems that there's nobody who can resist her charm. The story climaxes with the "Hollywood Ending" final scene of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", hinting to us that Hepburn finally found her emotional center. (The story doesn't go as far as having an older Hepburn star as the elderly Maid Marian, mourning with Sean Connery over their lost love; nor must we endure Love Hewitt grappling in the dark with Alan Arkin from "Wait until dark".)Love Hewitt manages to sound a lot like Hepburn, but her likeness seems as plagued as those of the other celebrity stand-ins. The makers of this biopic seem painfully aware of how delicate the likenesses are, and they do little to shake up their characters for fear of threatening the resemblance too much. Hewitt's mannerisms seem unconsciously jerky - unlike Hepburn's grace. It's not quite a cutting bio; though perhaps Hepburn doesn't deserve that treatment, a better tribute may just be to kick back with one of her movies. My favorite? "Scharade".