Sabrina: Some Fairy Tales are Even Better the Second Time Around

I know that for many film buffs, loving a remake can be tantamount to sacrilege--especially when the original happened to have starred luminaries like Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, or Humphrey Bogart.

But I'm going to happily commit film sacrilege and say that, when it comes to Sabrina, the film adaptations of the play Sabrina Fair, the 1995 remake starring Julia Ormond isn't just good, it's excellent. It's lighter, frothier, more poignant, and ultimately, for me, is far better than the original.

Sure, remakes are not always stellar. Most recently, I was disappointed in The Day the Earth Stood Still (although living up to the superb original would have been a task in itself), and the remake of Miracle on 34th Street still makes me a little nauseous just thinking about it... but basically, they don't all automatically suck. Purists be damned: Dangerous Liaisons is better than the original, so is The Ring, and although Nora Ephron's work doesn't always work for me, I do think You've Got Mail is a gem that far exceeds The Shop Around the Corner.

So back to Sabrina. There's a lot of sentimentality attached to the original, and no wonder, since it starred Audrey Hepburn at her most waifish, and William Holden at his most raffish (both good things). But the 1995 remake removes many dated and disquieting elements, and manages to make Linus (as played by Harrison Ford) not only understandable, but a viable suitor for Sabrina, not at all like Bogart's father-substitute.

When I revisited the original 1954 Sabrina last year, I was surprised by how humorless and sexist it seemed. And while yes, that was a product of the times to an extent, it's that much more welcome to see Sabrina flourish in the remake as a much stronger and more independent woman. And while this does not mean I don't adore Audrey Hepburn, or Holden, or Bogart, I just never saw sparks with Bogart and Hepburn at all (or Hepburn and Holden, for that matter). I do see them in the remake, with both Ormond's leading men.

I also just find myself disliking Sabrina as a character in the old one. She's willing to kill herself for this jerk, and actually attempts it(!), and is then sent off to learn how to cook and (it's implied) clean and be a good little wifey. I don't think the attempted suicide scene is funny at all and it's very uncomfortable to watch -- and I really hate that even in her big scene near the end with Bogart, she is COOKING for him -- acting as servant, not as equal.

Whereas I love the 1995 cast, I adore Ormond and her chemistry with Ford, and I like that Sabrina is so much stronger and more interesting a character in this one. One of my favorite hallmarks of this in the new one is how she talks about the poem behind her name, and Linus kind of sneers, "Oh, about your little poem..." thinking she was named for the maiden in distress -- but no, as Sabrina replies -- she was named for the heroine who saved the damsel, the "savior" of the piece. It adds yet another layer to Sabrina, who may have been a damsel in distress in the original -- but in the remake she is actually the one trying to save Linus from himself (and from a loveless, cold life).

I also think that it's much funnier than the original. Nancy Marchand is awesome in every single one of her scenes. And when Greg Kinnear sits on the glasses, or drools all over Sabrina's hand when he's on meds ("Look at your little hand!"), or when the secretary (played by the fabulous Dana Ivey) says she packed Linus's underwear drawer and "It was like touching the shroud of Turin!" -- I laughed out loud.

So yeah I'm one of those who feels -- absolutely -- that Sydney Pollack's Sabrina not only did justice to the original, but that honestly the remake was frothier, funnier, and more romantic than the original. (ducks to avoid flying tomatoes!)

Oh, and R.I.P. Sydney Pollack. He made a wonderful film. A lot of wonderful films.