One of the best remakes ever made, 1995's SABRINA is a big budget, perfectly cast Comedy/Romance that today stands out as one of the best films of the 90's.
It was a box office disappointment during the Christmas season of '95, but remains the only remake that superb Director Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa, Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie) ever made.
Julia Ormond (First Knight) stars as Sabrina Fairchild, daughter of the chauffeur to the wealthy Larrabee family.
Sabrina spends most of her formative years in a tall tree next to the Larabee estate & mansion, observing the love of her life (from afar), youngest son David Larrabee. In his first big screen role, Greg Kinnear knocks it out of the park as David. Arrogant, lazy, charming, funny and the ultimate womanizer, David flits from woman to woman, squeezing in plenty of boating and tennis to fill his days.
Older brother Linus (Harrison Ford) is all business, managing every facet of the Larrabee Empire under the observant eye of his mother Maude (perfectly embodied by Nancy Marchand of "The Sopranos" fame).
After graduating school, Sabrina heads off to Paris on a forced year away, dreading leaving her love, who barely knows she exists.
In the first of many sure-handed moves, Pollack and his writers Barbara Benedek (The Big Chill) and David Rayfiel (The Firm, Three Days of the Condor) honor the original 1954 film written by Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman, while modernizing it carefully for modern tastes.
We spend a leisurely, fascinating amount of time with Sabrina in Paris as she finds herself, coming back to rural New York a transformed, stunning and confidant woman.
Her return to the Larrabee's world is ill-timed, with David engaged to heiress Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly). Her father Patrick (a hilarious Richard Crenna, dropping one laugh-out-loud one liner after another) is selling his company to Linus in a massive business merger all over the front page.
Comedy ensues.
But so does some heartfelt drama. Ford has talked about how much he loves this film, while also saying how difficult it was to play Linus. A man with seemingly no heart, a 24/7 work ethic and little time for frivolity, Linus finds himself trying to distract Sabrina away from David.
Kinnear is excellent in what could be a throwaway role as the good looking, playboy brother. We've seen David's moves, his lines and his routine of seduction. But Sabrina feels like a different matter to him, and as we watch, even to us.
This is a smart, adult, big budget romantic comedy. Do they even make these anymore? Surely not with the polish that Pollack provides in every measure. John Williams music score elevates every scene. How can Sabrina not fall in love with that score playing in the background?
More than a few lines of dialogue stopped me in my tracks. Great writing.
"I know you work in the real world and you're very good at it. But that's work. Where do you live, Linus?"
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Sabrina: "What was Linus like as a boy?'
Fairchild (her father): "Shorter."
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"It is my first...everything..."
Every supporting cast member is terrific. John Wood (Ladyhawke) is a Sabrina's complicated Dad, Angie Dickinson (Dressed to Kill) is Elizabeth's hilariously materialistic Mother and Dana Ivey (The Color Purple) is flawless as Linus' long suffering executive assistant.
For me, SABRINA will always have a special place in my heart as my wife of nearly 30 years at this writing and I saw it on a date early in our relationship and the film's romance definitely got under our skin. The featured song by Williams, Alan & Marilyn Bergman, " How Can I Remember?" became our wedding tune. Still gets me!
Stunningly made, wrapped up in a modern Great Gatsby sheen and loaded with talent on both sides of the camera, SABRINA is an underappreciated gem.
If you haven't seen it, I envy you! Go stream it right now!
Long before I met you,
Don't ask me how I knew.
Ever since I can remember,
I remember You.
SABRINA gets an A+.
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