Although my title might sound like a jab, I mean it literally. If you like movies where nothing happens, "New York, I Love You" is a good one to catch.
So if nothing happens, what's it all about? Well, here we have 10 slice-of-life vignettes of people living in New York City focusing on interpersonal relationships, character drama, and in almost every story some sort of quirky ironic twist.
In a few cases the ironic twist is enough to make you say to yourself, "Aha! Good one." Segments in this category include a segment starring Robin Wright & Chris Cooper about a woman & man who meet on the street flirting with the idea of anonymous sex, or in the segment starring Olivia Thirlby, James Caan & Anton Yelchin about a boy who goes to the prom with a girl in a wheelchair, or the opening segment starring Hayden Christensen & Andy Garcia about a petty thief who meets his match. Or an impressive directing debut from Natalie Portman about a man who takes a young girl to the park for a day. Each of these may seem light on story, but there's a nice twist to each.
Other segments are a little less twisty in plot, but they make up for it with charming characters or quirky conversations, like the segment with Ethan Hawke using every line in the book to pick up a mysterious woman, or the segment starring the screen legends Eli Wallach ("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") & Cloris Leechman ("Frau Blucher!" in Young Frankenstein) about an elderly couple who go to Coney Island for the day.
And then there's the segment starring Julie Christie as a lonely, retired opera singer who checks into an ancient hotel for a night. That segment stands out for its haunting style and quiet desperation.
"New York, I Love You" is the American version of "Paris je t'aime" released two years earlier, each film featuring a series of shorts highlighting the human love affair with an iconic city. Oddly enough, "New York" features all but 2 directors who were born outside America (including Natalie Portman--did you know she was born in Israel?), so there is a very culturally diverse vibe. This ain't no "Friends" centered around young professional caucasians. It often digs deep into the ethnic perspective with characters who are Jewish (Hacidic), Hindu (Jain...although he points out that Jains are not Hindu because Hinduism is too materialistic haha), Chinese, Iranian, British, and a few I couldn't figure out.
My only real gripe with this film is that it seemed uneven at times, with the directing styles and stories often shifting gears so abruptly, and without any signals to let you know the prior story had ended and we're on to the next, that you can easily get disoriented. Transitions with characters' paths criss-crossing were inserted to make it more of a cohesive whole, but I think the opposite effect happened. I might've liked it better if the stories were kept very separate, like in the excellent "Tokyo!" featuring 3 very different stories from very different directors. But as far as short film compilations go, "New York, I Love You" is a good solid package that should tickle your nostalgia bone whether or not you hail from the Big Apple.
I can't end without mentioning my favorite film in this genre, "Coffee & Cigarettes" by Jim Jarmusch, featuring 11 short films set in Coffee Shops around the world. If you like this sort of thing, definitely check that one out.
