Sabrina

Original film: Sabrina (1954, starring Audrey Hepburn

Sabrina, the chauffeur’s daughter of the wealthy Larrabee family, is young and hopelessly in love with the dashing and handsome (yet, irresponsible) David Larrabee, youngest of the two Larrabee brothers. Having grown up in the estate of the Larrabees, she has spent years dreaming of David. Yet, he doesn’t even notice her. In pursuit of a career, Sabrina leaves for Paris to pursue the fashion industry, and learns photography while there. Meanwhile, back on the home front, David (Greg Kinnear) finds Dr. Elizabeth Tyson who happens to be the daughter of Patrick Tyson, owner of Tyson Electronics. They quickly become engaged while David’s older brother, Linus (Harrison Ford) works a merger of the Larrabee family company with Tyson.

When Sabrina (Julia Ormond) returns from Paris all “grown up,” she finally catches David’s eye. Now the upcoming wedding and subsequent business merger are in jeopardy. So, Linus steps in as damage control. As in the old movie, he plans to send her off to get her out of David’s mind so the business merger can go through without more trouble. There are some surprising twists that will keep you guessing as this romantic tale spins with ruthless business tactics.

This modern day remake of the 1954 classic yields some subtle humor. For instance, David continues to drive his car even though there is a parking ticket plainly in the wiper (perhaps that comes with being filthy rich). Also, the unusual accident that knocks David off his tail is humorous. Finally, people call Linus “the world’s only living heart donor,” behind his back of course.

From a Christian standpoint, this movie contains lots of deceit and lies. Also, David plays a “womanizer” and even though he is engaged to be married, he is actively pursuing Sabrina. While it is entertaining, young viewers or people having difficulty with relationships may want to avoid this one.