Honestly, if you watch Funny Face today, it feels like a fever dream of 1950s high fashion and "beatnik" stereotypes. It’s got everything. You’ve got Audrey Hepburn playing a mousy bookstore clerk who hates fashion, Fred Astaire as a photographer who basically forces her to be a model, and a whole lot of pink. But here’s the thing: most people think of this as just another "Audrey looks pretty" movie.
They’re wrong.
The funny face film Audrey Hepburn starred in 1957 is actually a weird, beautiful, and slightly chaotic collision of real-life fashion history and Hollywood artifice. It wasn't just a movie; it was a high-stakes experiment in style.
The Richard Avedon Connection (The Movie is Basically a Biopic)
Most fans don’t realize that Fred Astaire’s character, Dick Avery, isn't just a random photographer. He is literally Richard Avedon.
Avedon was the "Special Visual Consultant" on the film, but his influence went way deeper than a title. He taught Astaire how to hold a camera. He designed the opening credit sequences. He even provided the actual photographs you see scattered throughout the "Quality" magazine offices. The plot itself—a photographer discovering a "raw" girl and turning her into an international icon—was loosely based on Avedon’s real-life discovery and marriage to model Dorcas Nowell (who changed her name to Doe Avedon).
Why the visuals look "off" (in a good way)
If you’ve noticed that some scenes look like a moving magazine spread, that’s because they were meant to. Avedon worked with cinematographer Ray June to use a technique called "bokeh" and extreme overexposure. That famous shot where Audrey’s face is just eyes, nose, and lips? That was pure Avedon. It broke all the standard Hollywood rules of the time.
Audrey Actually Sang (And No, It Wasn’t Dubbed)
There is a huge misconception that Audrey Hepburn couldn't sing because she was famously dubbed by Marni Nixon in My Fair Lady.
In Funny Face, that is 100% Audrey.
Her voice isn't operatic. It’s thin, breathy, and very vulnerable. When she sings "How Long Has This Been Going On?" alone in the bookstore, you’re hearing her actual pipes. It works because her character, Jo Stockton, is supposed to be an amateur. She’s an intellectual who thinks fashion is "nonsense," so having a perfectly polished Broadway voice would have actually ruined the character.
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- The "Think Pink!" Factor: While Audrey handled the soul of the film, Kay Thompson (who played Maggie Prescott) brought the fire. Thompson was a legendary vocal coach at MGM—she basically taught Judy Garland how to sing—and her performance in the "Think Pink!" number is a masterclass in camp.
- The Dancing: Audrey was a trained ballerina, but Fred Astaire was... well, Fred Astaire. She was reportedly terrified of dancing with him. They spent weeks rehearsing that "He Loves and She Loves" number by the pond, which, fun fact, was actually filmed in a damp, muddy field in France where they had to lay down wooden boards just so they wouldn't sink into the grass.
The Givenchy Secret
You can't talk about the funny face film Audrey Hepburn without talking about the clothes. This was the movie that solidified the Hepburn-Givenchy partnership. But there was a bit of behind-the-scenes drama regarding the credits.
Edith Head, the legendary Paramount costume designer, won the Oscar nomination, but she didn’t design the iconic Paris wardrobe. Hubert de Givenchy did. Audrey specifically requested him.
The red dress she wears while running down the stairs at the Louvre? Givenchy.
The wedding gown in the finale? Givenchy.
The "beatnik" black turtleneck and loafers? Mostly Audrey’s own style influence.
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Edith Head was reportedly quite salty about this, as she was technically the head of the department but was relegated to designing the "drab" bookstore outfits Jo wears at the start.
That Controversial Age Gap
We have to address the elephant in the room: the age gap.
When they filmed this, Fred Astaire was 58. Audrey Hepburn was 27.
That is a 31-year difference. Even for the 1950s, people noticed. Some critics at the time felt the romance was more "father-daughter" than "star-crossed lovers." If you watch the film now, it can feel a little bit uncomfortable when they’re frolicking in the French countryside. However, Audrey actually insisted on Astaire. She refused to do the movie unless he was her co-star because she had grown up idolizing his dancing.
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Practical Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning to revisit this classic, keep an eye out for these specific details that most people miss:
- The "Basics of Character": Watch the scene in the darkroom where the light is entirely red. It’s one of the most technically difficult scenes to light in Technicolor without making the actors look like monsters.
- The Beatnik Satire: The character of Emile Flostre is a direct (and fairly mean) parody of Jean-Paul Sartre and the Existentialist movement in Paris. The film basically tells 1950s audiences that "intellectualism" is just a phase you get over once you put on a nice dress.
- The Locations: They actually filmed on location in Paris, which was rare and expensive back then. You’ll see the Opéra Garnier, the Tuileries Garden, and the Gare du Nord.
To truly appreciate the film, don't look at it as a realistic romance. Look at it as a 103-minute long fashion editorial. It’s a tribute to the art of the "look."
Next Steps for Film Buffs:
Check out the 1927 Broadway musical of the same name. You’ll find that almost nothing—except the title and some Gershwin tunes—made it into the movie. Then, compare Audrey’s "beatnik" dance in the smoky cafe to modern interpretive dance; you’ll see her influence in everything from Gap commercials to music videos.