Breakfast at Tiffany'sMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 76 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 OK for kids 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    TV Guide |

    One of the great New York films, swathing the city in a layers of dewy love and glossy chic. [Review of re-release] Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    Out of the elusive, but curiously intoxicating Truman Capote fiction, scenarist George Axelrod has developed a surprisingly moving film, touched up into a stunningly visual motion picture. Read full review

  • 80
    Empire | Emma Cochrane

    Audrey Hepburn is delicious as Holly and the Henry Mancini score is in the class of elite soundtracks. [Review of re-release] Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times |

    Like that storied novella by Truman Capote from which it stems, it is a completely unbelievable but wholly captivating flight into fancy composed of unequal dollops of comedy, romance, poignancy, funny colloquialisms and Manhattan's swankiest East Side areas captured in the loveliest of colors. Read full review

  • 78
    Austin Chronicle | Marjorie Baumgarten

    Hepburn brings Truman Capote's Holly Golightly to vivid life. [Review of re-release] Read full review

  • 60
    Chicago Reader | Dave Kehr

    This story of a party girl (Audrey Hepburn) in love with a gigolo (George Peppard) allows Edwards to create a very handsome film, with impeccable Technicolor photography by Franz Planer. [Review of re-release] Read full review

View more reviews for Breakfast at Tiffany's on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 13+ Fabulous, but lots of drinking and cigarettes.
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.  
  • 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?"
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: The film takes a hard look at the way in which emotionally damaged people attempt to find meaning in their lives. It asserts that fear and lack of trust result in self-destructive behavior. Only love and opening your heart can lead to happiness.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: In spite of her endearing ways and charming exterior, the film's heroine is a dubious role model. Holly Golightly drinks too much and smokes a lot; she earns her living in a questionable way; she frequently behaves irresponsibly, including an instance of lighthearted shoplifting. Still, the film reveals some of the causes of her amoral behavior, and she finds redemption. Her male counterpart is also far less than perfect. However, by rescuing Holly, he, too, earns redemption. An Asian stereotype is played for comic effect; even more offensive, the actor in the role is Caucasian. The film is generally an unflattering portrait of New York’s "jet set."
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: Holly Golightly has an uncontrollable, hysterical reaction to very bad news. She destroys her apartment and throws her cat against the wall. In a second emotional scene, she sends the cat off in the rain alone.  
  • sex false2 Sex: Implied throughout is the fact that both main characters use their sexuality as a source of income. In Holly's case, she is a glamorous escort, though there is never a mention of her actually having sex with any of her customers (whom she calls "rats" and "super rats").  Paul is the "kept" sexual companion to a wealthy woman. There is some kissing; some scenes in which characters are seen in bed. A nightclub striptease is seen in its initial stages, revealing the stripper's bare back.  
  • language false0 Language: One "damn."  
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Greyhound, Cracker Jack, Tiffany’s, Carter's Five-and-Dime.  
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink and smoke in scene after scene. Consumption of alcohol is a primary activity of the players. There is one lengthy party in which everyone is shown to be drinking heavily and many people are very drunk. Holly Golightly plays one lengthy scene completely inebriated. Her long cigarette holder is played as part of her "wild" girl character.  
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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