Product: The Audrey Hepburn Story [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 3.0
To The JLH Bashers
Some people like to personally attack others no matter what they do. Jennifer Love Hewitt has her critics and no matter what she does they will never find anything positive to say about her. To be fair, this movie is lacking in historical accuracy at times and it arguably could have been done better. However, it should be pointed out that there were additional scenes that ran longer in time that did not get released on the US version. These scenes are available in Europe and hopefully they will become available in the US someday.At the time that this movie was released (2000), Jennifer Love Hewitt was starring on "Time Of Your Life" a spin-off of the hit TV series "Party Of Five." She had mostly been known for the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" series and the comedies "Can't Hardly Wait", "Telling You" and "The Suburbans." So she did not have a long resume and I think an argument could be made that she would have fared better had she done this film in 2010, 10 years later. However, there always will be critics who will say that someone like Natalie Portman should have been picked to play this part. In fairness, I think it's difficult for any actor or actress to step into the shoes of a real-life famous person, especially one so beloved and admired like Audrey Hepburn. I think that in retrospect they probably should have made a theatrical biopic rather than one made-for-television. I think that they should have gotten the blessing of Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn's oldest son, and hired him as a consultant and producer to add some credibility. Much has been made about Hewitt not looking like Audrey, but it is not required for an actor/actress to look like the famous person he/she is portraying. Did Jessica Lange look like Patsy Cline in "Sweet Dreams"? Did Lou Diamond Phillips look like Ritchie Valens in "La Bamba"? I don't think Val Kilmer really looked like Jim Morrison in "The Doors", but he gave a great performance and was eerily believable in that part by capturing Morrison's voice and mannerisms.I do know that Jennifer Love Hewitt is a true fan of Audrey Hepburn. She loves her and considers her one of her idols. I don't think she would do anything to disrespect Audrey Hepburn or her family. I just think that what likely happened is that she received an offer to portray one of her idols in a TV-movie and it was an offer she couldn't refuse. Because it was a TV-movie and not a theatrical film, it did not have a big budget. Nor did it have the convenience of a lot of time to shoot which is likely why there is so much "stock footage" in the film and some parts of Audrey's life were either glossed over or brisk. Had this been a 2 hour, 3 hour theatrical release with a bigger budget, there would have been more time to shoot additional scenes and it likely would have been a better film. I'm not suggesting that it is a bad film, however. It is quite good and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Audrey Hepburn. The film also features a then-unknown and very young Emmy Rossum who portrays Hepburn as a child. She has since gone on to a successful career as an actress and singer. So, if anything, we can give Jennifer Love Hewitt some credit as a talent scout.