There are some movies you watch, not because they’re good in the Siskel-and-Ebert sense, but just because they’re somehow … unusual, or interesting, or out of the ordinary.

“Paris – When It Sizzles,” from 1964, is one such movie. Of course, you can’t really go too far off the mark with Audrey Hepburn, not to mention William Holden. The script is clunky and cheesy and Hepburn, even though she had loads of fun making the movie, has been quoted as saying it’s her least favorite when it comes to the finished product.

Yes, yes, I admit it’s silly, and ham-handed, and childish and sexist. But it’s still fun.

The premise is that Holden, an egotistical screenwriter living in Paris, has been lying about the progress of his latest magnum opus and now must complete it in just three days, before his producer (Noel Coward) comes to pick it up in person. He hires a temp to take dictation — and don’t we wish every temp worker looked like Audrey Hepburn? — and interacts with her in fun-but-predictable ways as he tries to work out the screenplay. Of course, this means we cut back and forth between the “real” story of screenwriter and temp, and fantasy sequences depicting the latest incarnation of the script, with Hepburn, Holden and at times a cameo guest star or two playing the lead roles.

I’m generally skeptical of remakes, but this is one case where it might be fun to update this movie to contemporary themes, mores and gender expectations.
[imdb]0058453[/imdb]