Film The lyrics to Deep Blue Something's Breakfast At Tiffany's used to bother me. Actually the promo to bother me too with its literal interpretation of the title of the song but only to the point that it features the band eating a repast in front of the jewellers rather than actually having a couple of actors illustrate the lyrics instead. This being the mid-90s, promos for guitar bands tended to be shaggy haired men only doing men things, apart from Sleeper because Louise Wener was goddess, not that I noticed at the time.
The problem with lyrics to Deep Blue Something's Breakfast At Tiffany's is that they ignore the content of the film. Songwriter Todd Pipes has apparently said that the inspiration for the lyrics was actually Roman Holiday but that he prefered the other title. So it's an afterthought, a case of having to find a movie title which scanned and provided a hook, something with six syllables and the stresses in the right place. Might as well have been Battle Beyond The Stars, The Shawshank Redemption, The Silence of the Lambs, Grave of the Fireflies or The Bridge on the River Kwai (ish).
But it's the casual nature of the conversation. "And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?" to which is his paramore says, "I think I remember the film / And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it / And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got". Is it? Is it the only film you've both liked at the same time and the only thing? Not exactly the most solid basis for a relationship really so you're probably best shot of each other. I appreciate that this is not a song which can really be held up to much scrutiny.
Except, it's how they treat the film. She thinks she remembers the film. It's Breakfast at Tiffany's. How can you forget Breakfast at Tiffany's? Especially the opening shot of Holly GoLightly standing in front of the retailer with coffee and croissant, its atmosphere so inviting even this cis male wished he could be a Givenchy dress wearing, pearl dangling girl about town in 60s New York. Despiting fancying Audrey Hepburn in all her other films, this is the one in which I actually want to be Audrey Hepburn. As she says, "It's useful being top banana in the shock department."
But in the years since I've come to realise that for some people film isn't the most important thing in their lives. They watch films, a lot of films, but once they've seen them, they're gone. They don't have a working memory of Gwyneth Paltrow's filmography to hand, don't know which order the Fast and Furious films are supposed to be in and can't tell you which films are usually in Sight and Sound's decadal film poll. They watch films, they enjoy them, they move on. Breakfast at Tiffany's included.
None of which stops me from shouting at Pointless most episodes of course, wondering how anyone can not know the difference between Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton to the point of listing three of the latter's film appearance in a final round asking for examples of the former. Or entirely failing to find the all important Pointless answer because I've assumed that someone in the hundred would have known Matt Damon was in Mystic Pizza and so dismissed it as a potential answer. Yes, he is. He plays Julia Roberts's boyfriend's little brother. No I don't know that actor's name.
There is of course the music or literature version of the above paragraphs with me cast in the role of the passing interest person and I'm sure if I was on Pointless struggling to remember the titles of songs on The Smiths's Meat is Murder album (and yes I did just have to Google to find the title of a The Smiths album for the purposes of this sentence) or Bernard Cornwell's back catalogue (he's the Sharpe guy right?). It's this reality which led me to lighten up on people who haven't seen a Tarkovsky or Whit Stillman film or not remembered even if they did.
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