Netflix Review of the Week

If you're anything like me, you've spent far too much time trapped in the red maze known as Netflix Instant Streaming.

I get all cozy, my beverage of choice next to me, Wii remote in my hand, ready to find the perfect story to amuse me during my limited free time.

Netflix recommends a few options that are somewhat appealing—although I have no desire to watch Archer no matter how many times it's suggested to me—but the problem really comes down to an abundance of choices.

When a genre is titled Witty Movies Featuring a Strong Female Lead how can I stop flipping through the options?

This will be a weekly column where I tell you about one awesome program I watch on Netflix and, when necessary, I will warn you of the bad eggs floating around out there. So next time you're struggling to decided what to watch, check me out here and I'll give you some pointers. I'm going to focus on the less popular choices. Everybody knows Louie is awesome. Or if you didn't and you're reading this, it is, check it out ASAP.

First up:

Did you know that there are THREE fantastic Audrey Hepburn movies currently available on Netflix Instant Streaming? Well there are.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Funny Face

Sabrina

Its funny that these three films feature Hepburn very differently. In Sabrina, she is the sweet, shy daughter of a chauffeur who goes to Paris to find herself and get over unrequited love. When she returns with a boatload of confidence and a fantastic haircut, she is irresistible to both old and new love. Its a charming story, romantic and sweet, filmed at gorgeous locations.

In Funny Face she plays a black-wearing, intellectually-conversing, beatnik.
Hepburn plays a young woman who get swept up into international modeling by Fred Astaire. The sing, they dance, they argue...you can probably guess the rest.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a classic for a reason. The film, while fun and thought provoking in its own right, is more than the sum of its parts. Holly Golightly represented a shift in the options for women in the 1960s. She was a young, single woman living in Manhattan, making a way for herself without being responsible to anyone. Her choice, a traditional lifestyle with a husband, children and security vs. instability, adventure, and a pinch of loneliness, was one that young women wanted to make for themselves. Every time I watch this movie, I want to read Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger and smoke out of long black cigarette holder.

Next week I'll be singing the praises of Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling with funny facial.