Sabrina

I really liked this film. The acting, the music, the dialogue, the gorgeous scenes of Paris and New England, and the glamourous parties. Julia Ormond is no Audrey Hepburn, but who is? I think she hit all the right notes as the shy, clumsy girl who goes away, blossoms, and comes home confident and glamourous. Ormond's Sabrina never loses her innocence or her good heart. Greg Kinnear was hilarious as the lovable ladies' man (and looks a lot like William Holden in the original). Nancy Marchand was hysterically funny as the crabby Mrs. Larabee, and John Wood turned in a good performance as Sabrina's father.

But I did have a harder time with Harrison Ford's Linus. He seemed too dark and too greedy to buy as loving Sabrina, even when he called off the merger. It always seemed to ring false in a way. He seemed a lot like the character of Richard in "Caroline in the City".

But I regress. This is a very good movie!

The temptation to compare it with the 1954 version is not small. And it is a good thing because the film has the force to use its voice. Julia Ormond is realy Sabrina. And Harrison Ford is a revelation as Linus. But, for me, the authetic good points are Miriam Colon as lovely Rosa and Nancy Marchand as wise,fascinating Maude Larrabee. Short, a seductive film.

Romantic is the word for this movie. The story, the settings, everything adds up to romantic. And it's clean - no gratuitous sex scenes or foul language! A rarity for a 90s movie. This movie has a timeless quality to it, and part of the reason is the (again) extremely romantic score! Many critics panned this version of "Sabrina", unfairly comparing it to the original Audrey Hepburn "Sabrina". Nobody could ever compare to Audrey Hepburn, but Julia Ormond is a fine Sabrina in her own right. She makes the transition from awkward teen to glamorous woman with subtlety and grace. Greg Kinnear shows a natural flair for acting in his first major movie role.

Passable but overlong remake of the classic Audrey Hepburn vehicle will play best for those not familiar with the original. The cast(Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Greg Kinnear) performs well and its production values are high but director Sydney Pollack's pacing tends to flag. By contrast, Billy Wilder's direction of the 1954 version is much tighter and quicker. Interestingly this "Sabrina" is 15 minutes longer than its predecessor but thanks to Pollack those extra 15 minutes feel like 30. Also, Barbara Benedek's and David Rayfiel's script lacks the wittiness that scenarists Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor("Vertigo") and Ernest Lehman("The Prize," "North by Northwest") provided the first time around.

Bottom line: 6 out 10.

"Sabrina" 1995 tells of a young chauffeur's daughter (Ormond) who grows up in the shadow of a wealthy family with two eligible bachelors; one all work (Ford) and the other all play (Kinnear). Forever in love with the latter as a girl, Sabrina studies in Paris and returns years later to the estate and the dreams of her childhood which she must now address as woman. A wistful contemporary Cinderella story with a solid cast and plenty of dreamy John Williams music, "Sabrina" is a must see for all lovers of romantic comedy. B+