The film Roman Holiday embodies many aspects of comedy as written about in the introduction of Stanley Cavell’s book: “Pursuits of Happiness.” The most obvious of these is the Princess’ masculine disguise. Others include the luxury of leisure time as well as the reunion of the two characters at the end of the film.
When Princess Ann escapes from the palace and immediately cuts off her hair to disguise herself. This aligns with the theory of “old comedy.” He states that this form of comedy often involves a “heroine, who may hold the key to the successful conclusion of the plot, who may be disguised as a boy and who may undergo something like death and restoration.” (Cavell 1) Although she does not disguise herself as male, Ann gets a boyish style hairdo which the barber does not agree with due to the beauty of her regal locks. Her disguise works for the greater population of Rome, but Joe Bradley, the journalist who’s been following her. This boyish disguise which hides her princess identity is foiled when she is discovered by agents of her government. This represents the “death” aspect of old comedy, as her persona of Anya is dead and she is brought back to her duty. The restoration at the end of the film comes through the interaction between Princess Ann and Joe Bradley at a press conference. Although the two do not end up together, the princess speaks about relations between countries in a way which is obvious to the audience and Joe to truly be about their brief romance.
The aspects of luxury and leisure which Cavell writes about are also present in this film. Rome provides an idyllic backdrop for this love story. Cavell writes about films from the 1930s specifically in relation to the Great Depression, but the logic applies to this film in the way it applies to comedy as a genre, not this specific era. Cavell writes that comic characters “have the leisure to talk about human happiness, hence the time to deprive themselves of it unnecessarily.” (Cavell 5) This is obvious in Roman Holiday as the princess makes an effort to escape her life of opulence. This ability to take time and find joy in the life of average citizens fits the trope Cavell is an allegory of “spiritual issues.” (Cavell 5) As well, the character of Joe, although he is not wealthy and works, is able to take the time to court this Princess. Although there is a prize for him if he is able to get an interview with her, Joe forsakes the money to build a personal relationship with the princess. This also aligns with the trope of “source” which Cavell speaks about in relation to the film His Girl Friday. (Cavell 25)
Roman Holiday embodies a sense of leisure and luxury as well as an effortful escape from it. Through this and the act of disguise, separation, and reunion, it embodies Cavell’s old comedy seamlessly.
On your point about the position of luxury and leisure in the film, I found it interesting to see how busy Rome is around the characters. While this makes sense and is probably most accurate, it definitely is also putting the characters into a different strata than the busy and occupied extras around them: they can afford to pursue love while the world works around them.
I really like this take! It’s also really cool to look at how much of the film is driven by Ann/Anya’s desire to be independent, free, and “normal”, if just for a day, and how much authority and autonomy she maintains even when sliding back into her role as princess, which aligns with Cavell’s view of the role the woman plays in comedies of remarriage.