A New York Movie

Back in the days of betamax, I was in charge of renting the family's weekend entertainment. Without fail, Mommy would tell me, "Can you get me a 'New York' movie?" Even at age 14, I knew what that meant. It meant much more than just--getting a movie set in New York. First, it had to be something romantic, or at least, something with romance. Ideally, it would be a city tale, New York City most obviously, but you could have a "New York Movie" set in Boston, San Francisco or even Chicago. Of course, the quintessential New York movie was Woody Allen's Manhattan. That's what Mom meant. I remember renting Romantic Comedy with Dudley Moore and Mary Steenberen from Sonix in Dasma. The Goodbye Girl with Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss also counted, as did Kramer vs. Kramer as well as The Competition (Again with Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving) and Crossing Delancy (again with Amy Irving). These days for that New York Movie feeling, we revisit episodes of SATC and sometimes Friends.

Well, tonight, the husband, the mother and I went for Prime--a New York movie on all fronts. And it was okay enough. A good premise and a thin plot held up by a great cast and slick cityscapes of good old NYC. Uma and Meryl made the most of very thin characters and a "I see it coming" dialogue. Still, there were a number of charming moments alongside some utterly cheesy lines. ie: "Having you offer that to me only shows me just how deep your love goes."

But as a once-upon-a-time New Yorker, I did think more than once that this flick was a little bit like chewing on bubble gum when you're in the mood for dark chocolate.