Monday, February 15, 2010

Movie Log: New York, I Love You

Following up 2006's similar anthology movie Paris, Je T'aime, New York, I Love You tells ten stories of love -- and the word "love" is to be interpreted very broadly, encompassing many things -- in the Big Apple.

Like its predecessor, this is a movie that would have to minutely scrutinized to be reviewed accurately, since it does tell ten separate stories -- each five to ten minutes long -- loosely folded into framing sequences directed by Randall Balsmeyer. And I'm really not up to anatomizing what was good and bad about each of those pieces, even if I still had the movie on hand to rewind and fast-forward to find examples for my points.

Like all sequels and remakes in a foreign land -- particularly when a movie from elsewhere is re-made by Americans -- New York, I Love You suffers in comparison with Paris, Je T'aime. Not that the first movie was uniformly wonderful -- it was an odd, lumpy concoction, bouncing through very different emotional states as it rattled along -- but it was a bit more original and surprising than this new one is.

There are plenty of good moments in New York, but none of the segments really crystallizes the way several did in Paris. It has a boatload of actors, none of whom embarrass themselves. It doesn't come together as a whole movie, but no one would have expected that, anyway. It's worth a rental for someone who liked Paris, but, otherwise, go see Paris first or instead.

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