Spring Break
Odd twists and lack of depth disappoint in 'New York, I Love You'
Husain Sumra
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The film is an anthology and features the works of 11 directors, 21 writers and about two dozen actors, in stories about the people of New York City.
The 10 stories, with one intertwining story that connects them all, attempt to shock or surprise with their endings.
However, the majority of the stories fail to shock, and the writers sometimes seemed to be trying far too hard by inserting plot twists for the sake of plot twists.
The movie does feature a stellar cast, with the likes of Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Andy Garcia, James Caan, Natalie Portman, Rachel Bilson, Ethan Hawke, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen and many more, all giving solid performances.
The transitions between stories are seamless, although they probably should be, since one of the directors focused solely on transitions, combined with the separate story of a girl filming around New York to tie all the stories together.
The only story that didn't mesh with the movie was the segment directed by Brett Ratner, because the main character narrated his story.
A segment in the middle of the film that switches narration styles and has the main character thinking out loud is a bit jarring, when the rest of the segments had a more traditional storytelling style.
It's almost as if Ratner didn't consult the other directors.
None of the stories have actual titles, and are instead named after the director who helmed the segment.
In that way, the film again attempted to be a seamless experience of walking through the streets of New York and overhearing the random conversations of passers-by.
Ratner's segment, despite the jarring change to the overall flow of the film, is the most fun to watch and is similar to the movie "Superbad."
The story deals with a boy who takes the wheelchair-bound daughter of his pharmacist to the prom after his girlfriend can't make it.
Director Mira Nair's segment on a soon-to-be Jewish wife, played by Natalie Portman, and her conversation with her Indian jeweler about the differences between their cultures is fairly interesting, but ends in an odd and unsatisfying way.
Portman's segment is her directorial debut and the cutest story of the bunch. The interactions of a man and a little girl as they romp through Central Park made me say "aw."
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