Sabrina

Movies, 1995, PG

Premise - The chauffeur's daughter of an incredibly rich family in Long Island has been doting over the family's youngest son, David, for her entire life. After spending a few years in Paris, she returns an unrecognizably beautiful woman who finally grabs the attention of David, just as he is about to marry into a billion dollar merge with another incredibly rich family.

Review - With a film starring Harrison Ford as the romantic lead, I thought this was going to be from the 80's. But no, apparently this film was made in 1995, which is a bit disturbing because he definitely looks like an old man and Sabrina is like... a minor at the beginning of the story. Or at least she looks like it. I think her character is supposed be around 20 years old. And Harrison Ford wasn't even 20 in the 70's. Perhaps Harrison Ford's charisma, name, and status were enough to make people think Linus's character was a sufficient male lead. But take that away and um... not the most convincing. The heartless-asshole-obsessed-with-work is horribly unattractive, as the film very well recognizes, and Sabrina over the course of the film is supposed to see the good heart that's buried deep within. Honestly I don't have too much of a problem with that. What made Linus much more difficult to redeem than his work habits was his implicit misogyny. The subtle comments Linus makes towards Sabrina like "your little poem" is just so insulting and dismissive, and not something the film confronts.

I do recognize that this version is a remake from a black and white film, which I cannot recall ever seeing. I have seen this version before, when I was kid, but not in recent memory. Watching this film as an adult, I found several outdated flaws, age difference being the one that stuck out to me most. I recognize, however, that it is likely far more progressive than its original in terms of its jokes and characterization, yet it was still living off of a structural core of a story that is inherently outdated.

For what it is, however, it's relatively charming and fun. It's sweet. Made me want to visit Paris. Try to look past some of the creepiness when he shows up at her door in Paris, and it's quite romantic. I also found personal amusement in Sabrina's fangirling over David because hey, I saw a bit of myself in that. I do think it's classic storytelling, too, to have her end up with the unexpected, hard-shelled brother instead, who knew her all along. I still have trouble getting over how old he was when she was a little girl though. (74/100)

Quote -

"So, your little poem - what does it mean?"

"It's the story of a water sprite who saved a virgin from a fate worse than death."

"And Sabrina's the virgin?"

"Sabrina's the savior."

What to watch for - I think it was interesting to me seeing Greg Kinnear look so young. I really enjoyed the humor of his character - what a highlight.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend While You Were Sleeping or The Princess Diaries!

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Distributed by Paramount Pictures