Paris When It Sizzles

A hack screenwriter (William Holden) daydreams with his secretary (Audrey Hepburn) in Paris while working on an overdue script.

There are two ways of looking at Paris When It Sizzles. On the one hand, you could say the film is an ambitious satire of the Hollywood process and its homogenizing, derivative, nature, or, on the other hand, you could say the film is the disastrous result of said process. Either way, it really doesn’t work.

Despite the tremendous screen presence of stars William Holden and Audrey Hepburn, the film feels empty, lacking either the sharp bite of a really good satire, or the emotional resonance of a solid melodrama. Instead, we’re left with a series of disjointed sequences that feel like something we’re supposed to enjoy, as if the visual manifestation of several hack scenarios should be entertaining.

The problem is that the film is too well produced and too watered down. The only real edge comes in the form of Tony Curtis’ cameo in which he plays a somewhat fictionalized version of himself playing a character in a film. It’s convoluted on paper, but works perfectly onscreen, and actually generates laughs, unlike just about every other bit in the film.

Not surprisingly, Paris When It Sizzles had a troubled production history, with Holden forced into rehab midway through shooting due to his drinking, though Hepburn would later say this was her favorite film to make, though she also added “just because the film was easy to make doesn’t mean it’s going to be very good.”