Basketball charms

The ending may surprise first-time viewers because of its rather somber tone, but I admire the filmmakers for having the guts to stay true to their convictions. Sometimes, all s well despite not ending so well. Audrey Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar her first time at-bat in a leading role, but I think that she won because of her engaging screen manner. Sure, Hepburn could act, but Roman Holiday is a rather simple story without much to say that s important. There is plenty of skill, charm, and wit on display, though, and that s what counts.

Working like a subtextual primer on late fifties anxieties about social status versus individual identity, Annette's entire thematic core is concerned with our anxiety over whether or not Annette will be 'accepted' by the Ashford teen 'in' crowd, and more importantly, if she'll be able to accomplish this difficult task on her own terms, without rejecting her own cultural identity. Costumed like something out of a road company tour of Oklahoma!, and walking down the plush streets of Ashford, searching for her uncle's address, poor farm girl Annette literally bumps into the epitome of American suburban success: teen dreamboat Steve Abernathy, who's backing up, admiring his expensive hot rod Oscar. This clash between cultures, between country and city, between the moneyed and the poor, between the socially 'acceptables' and the acknowledged 'underclass,' doesn't get any more subtle in Annette than this accidental bumping-into by the two lead characters, but that very blatantness is part of the charm and economical grace of Annette's screenplay and direction.
Annette's creators assumed that its young audience of The Mickey Mouse Club enthusiasts were savvy enough to understand the ins and outs of social hierarchy among American teens, and they play straight to that understanding. All of the kids in Annette understand perfectly where they fit in as to their place in Ashford society. Annette is more than aware that she's an outsider, acknowledging her less-than-adequate rural schooling (she already assumes she'll be held back a grade at Old South High), as well as her reduced circumstances (she only has one dress) and her lack of training in the 'finer' elements of social intercourse

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