Finally viewed this movie!
And while I didn't go into the movie comparing it to the '54 version, I did feel it stretched my credulity to new levels.
Why the heck didn't Sabrina go to college? For all the "this is the '90s" spiel, it was very very weird that Sabrina hung around the Larrabee estate past 18, mooning over David. I would have found her infatuation more realistic if say, David and Sabrina went away to Yale together and she copied his classes in an attempt to get him to notice her, etc, etc--but then I realize it would have negated the tepid "class" issues given lip service to.
One thing that gets me: Maude Larrabee's willingness to get Sabrina a coveted job at Paris Vogue but apparently unwilling to pay for college? Why didn't the father make her go away is he had all that money invested?
Sabrina's photography could have been an excellent way for her to approach the Larrabee's on equal ground (I expected her to become an up-and-coming photographer, with all the contacts one can make through Vogue)--except it was only used as a prop to get her away with Linus.
I take the '54 version at face value: a charming take on a Cinderella story, but for the '95 version to "update" the setting and characters (it does do a great job in injecting a bit more backbone to Sabrina; Hepburn was just there to be charming and alluring) yet leave such crucial, modern things dangling? I felt as though the movie was supposed to be more introspective regarding class and money and power, but they dropped the ball with the title character--the most important character in the movie!--and played waffleball with other things--like David, whose character arc was way too stunted (he was more fleshed out than the playboy, sunny Holden version, written as a man scared to grow up. However, the writers then reverted to the '54 version, where Sabrina stole him away at first glance, when '95 David pursued Sabrina to continue to be irresponsible and flee his fear). The Linus/Sabrina relationship was more bittersweet in this version, but at the end, I found this version wanting. The '54 version was what it was, and was bouyed by Audrey's extraordinary presence. The '95 version thought it was injecting modern life into the story, but stumbled over so many things. It was a pretty, yet shallow and empty film for me.