 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Review Date: February 3, 2004
- NR
- Genre: Classic
- 1961
Common Sense Media says
Fabulous, but lots of drinking and cigarettes.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this 1960s romantic comedy is the story of a paid "party girl" who falls in love with a writer supported by a wealthy society woman in return for an intimate romantic relationship. There is no actual sexual activity other than kissing or cuddling, and no nudity (except for a sequence in which a stripper starts to undress and reveals her back). People smoke continuously -- Holly Golightly's cigarette holder is a character trademark. Drinking and drunkenness figure prominently in multiple scenes. In one intensely emotional scene, Holly destroys everything in her apartment; in another she forces her cat onto the streets alone. In a throwback to mid-20th century sensibilities, a Caucasian actor portrays an Asian as an offensive stereotype.
What's the story?
Paul Varjack (George Peppard), a writer who is being supported by a wealthy woman (Patricia Neal), is intrigued by his upstairs neighbor, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn). Holly is an enchanting combination of breathtaking elegance, glossy Manhattan sophistication, and an engaging willingness to confide in Paul because she says he reminds her of her brother Fred. Still, she doesn't really tell him anything about herself, except that she likes to go to Tiffany's when she has "the mean reds" and needs to be surrounded by something comforting. Along comes a stranger who reveals a secret from Holly's past -- he was once Holly's husband, and he took care of Holly and Fred when their parents died and married her when she was 15. He has come to take her back home to rural Texas. But she tells him that she is a "wild thing" and cannot be kept in a cage, and sends him home alone.
Is it any good?
Holly says, "I can't think of anything I've never done" and "I'm used to being top banana in the shock department." This might sound tawdry from most people, but she manages to make it seem as though she found it all a delicious adventure. She tries hard to protect herself from her feelings, categorizing all the men she considers possible partners for her as "rats and super rats," planning to marry a man she does not love, refusing to give Cat a real name, trying to create a world for herself that is a perpetual Tiffany's, where "nothing bad could happen to you." She does give way entirely when Fred is killed in an outpouring of real emotion that scares away the man she is cultivating.
Paul sees this because it parallels his own experience. He once cared about writing, but as the movie opens, he's given up any notion of personal or artistic integrity to allow himself to be kept by a wealthy woman. His relationship with her is his way of protecting himself from taking the risk of feeling deeply, as an artist or as a man. Paul and Holly understand each other, and that understanding makes them ashamed of the hypocrisy of their lives. Holly describes "the mean reds" as "suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of." Everyone has this feeling from time to time, but it resonates particularly with teenagers, who are experiencing more volatile and complex emotions than any they have known before, and who tend to conclude that since they are new to them, they have never been felt before. This movie provides a good opportunity to talk about those feelings and strategies for handling them.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about "the mean reds." Have you ever felt that way? Why does Tiffany's make Holly feel better when she feels that way? What makes you feel better? Why did Holly marry Doc? Why did she leave him? What makes Paul decide to break up with the woman he refers to as "2-E"? What did O.J. mean when he called Holly a "real phony?"
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- Teens & kids
AGE
STOP EXAGGERATING!
What is wrong with you people??? These days kids get offered their first cigarette on average in 3rd grade!
Yes, Mickey Rooney's character is totally racist, but that is the ONLY problem with the movie. If you honestly think your child is going to want to become a call girl, alcoholic, or smoker, then fine, don't let them watch it.
This movie is FANTASTIC. It deals with some serious subject, but in a very mild manner.
I saw this movie when I was 11, and I was not at all naive, but I didn't quite get that Audrey was a call girl, it's so mild. And the sexual content is that 2.E. is cheating on her husband with Paul, which he breaks off, and we see him shirtless (which no one should be complaining about if your child has seen Twilight) once.
I have no clue what this "kissing/groping" person is talking about. There are about 2 kisses and groping is NOT involved unless you call putting your arms around someone groping.
At this time period people didn't really know how damaging smoking and drinking(excessively) were to your health.
Plus, it's JUST A MOVIE. If your kid wants their life to be like Holly's(which wasn't much until she loved Paul back) then they have problems that have nothing to do with the content of this movie.
It's your decision, but this movie is AMAZING.
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AGE
Stereotyping and sexual references not right for today's tweens
A favorite movie of mine from long ago, I found it excruciating to watch with my 12 year old daughter and we decided to turn it off. She was extremely shocked and troubled by Mickey Rooney's insensitve characterization of a Japanese man and it was painful for me to watch too. The sexual innuendo was more explicit than I remembered and in many ways made us both more uncomfortable than the fleeting kiss/groping scenes that are standard fare in today's PG-13 movies. We decided to turn it off. So be a little cautious with this old favorite with your tweens. It's a more adult movie than you probably remember.
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AGE
....
this movie is amazing i dont see why people are saying it's innapropriot it's nothing people my age havent heard about before. kids know more about sex then adults think. besides somebody said this movie is to graphic for kids? the worst thing they show is paul with his shirt off. like nobody's ever seen that. and this person said it was innaproptiot because they were kissing? most people our ago HAVE kissed guys before so i don't see why parents have a problem with us watching it when we have already done it. i think this is a great movie for age 10 and up.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 18, 2011
AGE
The Best Movie Ever
How is this innapropriate? I love love love this movie, it's my favorite movie ever. Holly Golightly/ Audrey Hepburn is the epitimome of elegance, glamour, and sophistication. It is touching and romantic, without being like Twilight or My Sister's Keeper. It's really sweet. I think this should required watching for every child to learn grace and elegance. It is wonderful.
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AGE
Best movie EVER
Holly Golightly is an amazing role model. She is independent and elegant and FUNNY. The movie should be seen by all. It's funny without being racy, sexy without being explicit and moving without being preachy. Holly is a little materialistic but she knows how to get what she wants. She wants to be rich to acheive her dreams, some may say this is wrong but everyone wants to live a great lifestyle and hopefully kids will pick up on this and learn that you have to work hard in this world to get your dreams. What else could anyone hope for.
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AGE
Loved It, But Thought it Should be rated R.
i have been wanting to see this movie and I had a movie marathon and Breakfast on Tiffany's was one of the movies I rented. I thought it would be fine and so did my parents but i was wrong. The drinking is the main thing I thought was innapropriate. Heavy drinking and heavy smoking. There was also sexual content and innuendo. I don't think an 11 year old should be watching this yet. it is also very hard to understand. I think it is okay for 14 and up.
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AGE
Classic, Original, and Adorable
This is my favorite movie in the entire world. I love Audrey Hepburn! This movie is not inappropriate at all. Mickey Rooney's character is a Japanese man, so he played a Japanese man. And the kissing is not grotsque. It's sweet and passionate. The hint a being a call girl might classified as crude, but if you're too young to understand what it means, it shouldn't bother you. Fantastic movie :)
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AGE
Hilarious, Moving Comedy!
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS was one classic in a long string that I hadn't seen. So, I picked it up and gave it a try. This is a marvelous movie that manages to be funny without racy, sexy without being explicit, and moving without being preachy. It's a perfect pick if your teen is looking for a clean comedy in a sea of raunch. However, there are a few parts to be concerned about for younger viewers. Up top, if you look, I said that messages were both positive and negative. That might seem contradictory, but let me explain. Some parts of the movie promote negative morals: Mickey Rooney plays an extremely stereotyped Japanese American to over-exaggerated excess. However, if you explain this to your teen, it shouldn't keep them from seeing the movie. Also, scenes in the film depict over-the-top partying with drinking and drunkeness, and also shoplifting. These are the main cautions before viewing this film. Make sure your kid is mature enough to realize it's just a movie. On the plus side: the two main characters in the film help each other and stick with each other through thick and thin, and, before the end, they discover themselves and their love for each other. There are some sexual references. It is practically spelled out in bright, flashing letters that Holly and Paul are both paid people (Holly gets paid for "trips to the powder room" and Paul sleeps with a married woman). You see a clothed stripper on stage, then peoples' faces as they watch her (you don't see anything explicit). Characters talk about how much she must get paid. But, despite these verbal references, no nudity or sex is ever shown or hinted at. There is no language or violence.
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AGE
I'm Crazy About Tiffany's!!!
Breakfast at Tiffany's, man I just love that name, and I extremely love this movie! Audrey Hepburn shines in her role as Holly, and is probably best known for this role (especially because of her iconic image of her in a beautiful black dress with her hair up, and a cigarette holder in her hand). I think she played the character amazingly, and she probably shocked America with playing a dirty party girl. Peppard was also great as Paul or to Holly Fred, and him and Audrey's chemistry was just wonderful. The rest of the cast is great as well, and whoever played the drunk women who laughed and cryed with herself in a mirror.........HILARIOUS! But though the movie has a great story, great cast, and great comedy and romance, it is pretty dirty. Holly is said to make money by going to the powder room with men, Paul makes his money in a similar way by having an affair with a married woman (nothing is shown, only mentioned, and implied). Also, there is quite a bit of smoking and drinking, one use of da**, and also Holly and Paul steal two masks from a store (out of fun, they are doing things they've never done before). So because of this content it's probably best to show this film to teens and up.
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Blake Edwards |
| Cast: | Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal |
| Genre: | Classic |
| Run time: | 115 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 5, 1961 |
| DVD release date: | April 10, 2001 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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