Cinema Vérité

Rented dwellings are often far from glamorous. Though calling home to a pied-a-terre in a bustling metropolis should feel chic, it sometimes seems like a pit-stop on the way to "real home ownership" in the greener suburbs. Don't ditch your digs though! Rekindle the glow of your first apartment, perfect in its imperfections just because it was yours, by indulging in a few classic movies about romance, roommates, and renting.

The Apartment (1960)
Director: Billy Wilder, Stars: Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine
Okay, the title is just too fitting to keep this one off the list. Lemmon plays an insurance clerk who's trying to get ahead by ingratiating himself to his supervisors. After loaning out his apartment to his boss for a discreet rendezvous, his pad becomes the popular spot for all company execs to take their mistresses. Complications ensue when Lemmon, who can't even stay in his own apartment, discovers that his girlfriend (Maclaine) is his boss's date. Funny and a little dark, it's a classic about a regular guy just pushed too far.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Director: Gene Saks, Stars: Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
Based on Truman Capote's novella, this stylish film brings together the independent and impetuous Holly Golightly (Hepburn) with struggling kept writer Paul Varjeck (Peppard). While Paul's apartment is nastily decorated by his "lady patron," Holly's is a master of single-girl simplicity with half a claw foot tub as a sofa, and the telephone kept in a suitcase. The catty dialogue, the romantic Mancini score, and the fabulous costumes are all great reasons to watch, not to negate any literary merit. The best renter's scene, though, comes when Holly throws a cream-of-society shindig in her tiny flat with only frequent booze replenishment and egos to grease the evening. Breakfast at Tiffany's gives hope that with an attractive neighbor and a fire escape, good things can happen.

Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Director: Blake Edwards, Stars: Jane Fonda and Robert Redford
Neil Simon's charming screenplay unites a pre-Klute Fonda and a pre-(let's just be kind and call it "rugged") Redford as very cute mismatched newlywed pair. He's a young attorney trying to be taken seriously; she's a giddy bohemian who finds adventure wherever he finds a problem. The new apartment, seven flights up, has holes in the skylight, peculiar neighbors, and no bathtub. Their divergent natures threaten to tear the marriage apart just as it's beginning. Very sweet, with very funny scenes of the mother-in-law drinking ouzo, this will make your apartment look not so bad or so small.

Green Card (1990)
Director: Peter Weir, Stars: Andie MacDowell and George Depardieu
It's probably too sentimental, but still not sappy. A soft-hearted environmentalist (MacDowell) agrees to marry a questionable French pragmatist (Depardieu) for mutual benefit. He gets citizenship and, as a married woman, she gets approval from the tenant's board to move into her dream apartment, which is replete with the most gorgeous glassed arboretum. When immigration checks in, the couple is forced to live together. They might not be so incompatible after all….

Singles (1992)
Director: Cameron Crowe, Stars: Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgewick, Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, and featuring Pearl Jam
Arguably the best Gen X apartment film ever, and it definitely has the best soundtrack. At the height of the Seattle sound scene, the lives of several singles intertwine as they look for love and purpose. In their first apartments without dorm-mates or roommates, they discover what, or who, they really want. If nothing else, watch for Matt Dillon's attempts to be the front man for Eddie Vedder's band.

And one to avoid…
Shallow Grave (1994)
This is a fabulous little film, directed by Danny Boyle and starring a young, round-faced Ewan MacGregor. It will convince you, however, that your roommates are truly out to get you. Far more frightening than Single White Female, this dark flick is best left to watch on a sunny afternoon when you already feel pretty darn good about your place.
Feelin' good now, right?