Customer Reviews

Sidewalks of New York

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Prior to seeing Woody Allen's worst movie, "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion," I probably would have given Ed Burns's "Sidewalks of New York" a 4 star review because it was too derivative of Woody Allen's work. However, "Curse" showed that Allen is now past being able to make this kind of film and that someone new must step up to the writing, directing, acting helm of these gem-like, relationship slice-of-life films. Ed Burns fills that void very nicely indeed and it is a lot to ask, that someone be able to write, direct and act. Burns himself will never be a comic like Woody Allen but he is a more credible romantic leading man, being young, handsome and with attractive ways about him. This film takes a handful of New Yorkers and puts them into a variety of relationship quandries. Stanley Tucci portrays the least sympathetic as a dentist who suffers from chronic infidelity no matter to whom he is currently married. I was glad to see Brittany Murphy in another role after seeing her play the psychiatric patient to Michael Douglas's psychiatrist in last year's thriller. She is an actress to watch as she is quite different here as Tucci's girlfriend who starts angling towards a New York doorman on the side. Heather Graham does a Mia Farrow like role as Annie, who becomes the Burns the love interest, although it is nip and tuck with the Rosario Dawson biracial teacher with Burns first. There is a scene stealer in this movie though and that actor is Dennis Farina as the older man who counsels Burns on seducing women throughout. He is an absolute lounge lizard creep, a complete turnoff to women everywhere, but I was laughing out loud and holding my sides every time he was on camera. The scene of him lounging in his bubble bath, while counseling Burns to splash cologne on his privates to increase his "action," is emblazoned across my memory forever, I'm afraid! I fail to understand why anyone thought Burns should erase the twin towers from his film, our being able to see them in the background. Should we erase Gettysburg off the map too so we can pretend the Civil War never happened? Or the coast of Normandy to pretend World War II never was? The thinking behind this notion of eradicating history from appearing in our films, even as background, I find very disturbing.

It's amazing how many people will trash Edward Burns' films -- but still watch every Ed Burns film. Um, if you don't like a director/actor/writer, maybe pick something else? (I mean, I don't care for Celine Dion, so I don't listen to her music. Make some choices, folks.) This is a talky, quirky film that follows six interconnected characters who live in New York. We get Burns as a disillusioned TV producer, Stanley Tucci as a cheating dentist, Rosario Dawson as a cautious schoolteacher, Heather Graham as a real estate agent with traditional values, Brittany Murphy as a college student, and David Krumholtz as a slightly grating but sincere doorman. Even though none of the characters were perfect, they all had real human qualities and imperfections. Even Krumholtz' annoying doorman character manages to show some emotional realism at several points. If you liked She's the One or The Brothers McMullen, or if you just like small, "indie" movies with good characters, this is worth seeing. It's reminiscent of Woody Allen (some reviewers think that's a bad thing..?), but Woody hasn't done a film this good (or as relevant to Gen-X/Gen-Y) in years. It's shot in a documentary style, with mock interviews sprinkled throughout in which the characters talk about their personal lives, including marriage, sex, and the complicated situations that can occur between people. Heather Graham actually has a monologue that's a little eerie, talking about how our society has nothing to worry about anymore, how we have no threats, etc., and as a result we spend our time worrying about our relationships. In another scene she talks about how her parents and grandparents made sacrifices, lived through wars, and yet managed to hold on to their values, keep their families together, etc. This all would've gone right by me had I not seen the WTC in so many shots. Definitely a snapshot of a pre-9/11 "safe at home" mentality, but the relationship themes are still universal. It's interesting to see that even 9/11 hasn't affected how people view relationships -- just how we view our world.

Six New Yorkers are romantically involved in this 'pseudo - documentary' style movie. A once divorced, not - happily - married 39 years old dentist is involved with a 19 years old NYU student waitress, who has a 23 years old divorcee interested in her, even though he is still attached to his ex, who meets this guy in a video store, who also flirts with the dentist's realtor wife...

While the characters & story itself are pretty standard & predictable, Burns manages to create a few beautiful, true & interestingly authentic New York moments in this movie.

Edward Burns has made a very good film of the romantic comedy genre, about the complex lives of six New Yorker's whose lives intersect at some point during the movie. Filmed in a documentary style, one can't help but feel the spontaneity and good acting of the cast, made more intimate by the ambient New York setting. What I liked about the movie was the realism it depicted, and the vulnerablities and fears playing on the lives of people in relationships. This is the first movie of Edward Burns I have seen and I can't wait to see his other works of art. If you want to know more about relationships and the human condition, watch this film. Highly recommended.

Ed Burns scored a home-run in this movie. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn it was a Woody Allen film, it had that same combination of funny, warm, honest, dry, slice-of-life humor.

All the characters were believeable, realistic and perfectly cast. Stanley Tucci was perfect as the pathological philandering husband to Heather Graham, who played up the 'highstrung-ness that is characteristic of Allen's leading ladies (Farrow, Keaton)to a 'T'. Meanwhile, Brittany Murphy was admirable as the young and impressionable, but still remarkably self-sufficient love interest to Tucci.

Ed Burns handled his roles as director/actor/writer superbly, as the hot leading man to both Graham and Rosario Dawson. Dawson plays Burns' flaky and indecisively sometimey love interest well; her scene with Burns, outside Burns's house never fails to annoy me, which I guess just goes to show how well Dawson plays her role.

My favorite part of this movie hands down though, is the scene where Burn's older man-friend, played by Dennis Farina, gives Burns 'dating advice'. The way in which Farina confidently insists that Burns "put some cologne on [his] balls" never fails to have me rolling with laughter. What a leech. And what makes it funnier is that Farina really does believe his own advice. Clearly both men come from different schools of 'how to be win over the ladies'. Guess which one Farina comes from?

That this movie isn't all laughs lends to the Allen-esque feel and makes it more endearing. There are several touching scenes: the interactions between Tucci and Murphy in their disfunctional affair; the scenes between Graham and Tucci as she realizes what a ferret she has for a husband; the scenes between Burns and Dawson, where you almost what to slap Dawson out of her inertia; and the scenes where Dawson's ex husband, (played by David Krumholtz) plays guitar to himself in his lonely NY apt bathroom.

This is one of my favorite movies for all the same reasons I like Woody Allen's movies: You laugh, you cry, you want to reach out and hug/slap/shake one of the characters, but you ultimately end the movie on a high, feeling lucky -despite it's frequent ups and downs- to be part of this topsy-turvy, rollercoaster-whirlwind of a ride we call "Life".

A surprisingly good film which did not receive much advertisement. I gained a new respect for two actresses that I did not care for: Heather Graham and Brittany Murphy. This movie has a high level of believability. There was not a weak link in this chain of actors. David Krummholtz is adorable, as is Ed Burns. Stanley Tucci is incredibly good. I am not one to watch movies over and over again, but I have seen this one three times already.

"Sidewalks of New York" is an interesting evening's entertainment. Edward Burns is a good romantic lead despite his high-pitched raspy voice. He always seems to be going in two different directions at once, which makes him interesting to watch. One reviewer said that the problem with this as a romantic comedy is that there are no really good guys. Even Ed Burns' character Tommy hits on Annie (Heather Graham) when he's seeing Maria (Rosario Dawson). Maybe the good guys just don't live in New York! Overall, I liked the women characters much more than the men. David Krumholtz as Ben walks around in an doorman's uniform. He had a small part in "The Mexican" with Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts and was memorable in "10 Things I Hate About You." He does a nice job of being a passive-aggressive romancer. Dennis Farina is hysterical as the self-involved Romeo who counsels Tommy on how to successfully hit on women with the memorable pearl that he should spray cologne on his balls, only to have Maria wonder about what kind of guy would do that after their first date. Stanley Tucci who was great as Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" plays the chronic cheating husband who worries about his size to the hilt. Heather Graham who did a nice job in "From Hell" with Johnny Depp and also appeared in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" is most real as the pretty wife with traditional values. Rosario Dawson who played with Will Smith in "Men In Black II" does a great job as the school teacher who dates Tommy. Brittany Murphy is accomplished as the waitress Ashley who has an affair with Stanley Tucci's Griffin. From her role opposite Michael Douglas in "Don't Say A Word" to her part in "Girl, Interrupted" and even her splash in "Riding In Cars With Boys," she shows great range as an actress. Nadia Dajani as Annie's (Heather Graham) best friend does a great job as she did in "Happy Accidents."

The DVD version is somewhat interesting. With the film shot in only 16 days, there weren't deleted scenes to watch. The commentary was a bit repetitive since Burns and Dawson were the only two actors interviewed; and the same clips kept repeating. Even having the gaffer's insights on the film seemed like they were trying to stretch the commentary. I didn't find it to add much to the cinematic experience.

Yes, it would have been nice to have one guy that we really liked. Yes, the movie is certainly not a "comedy" that is as funny as "Sex In the City." Yes, there's not really a plot so much as a character snapshot. But this is a film that keeps our attention. All in all, it's an interesting evening's entertainment. Enjoy!

I loved this movie! I've watched it over and over again! and now that I am going to buy the DVD, I'm going to watch it some more! it just reflects alot of real life situations...and some of them you simply relate to...

Sidewalks of New York is a film that wants oh-so-badly to be 'hip.' Unfortunately for Mr. Burns, trying to be 'hip' is the one thing that is absolutely guaranteed to spoil the effect. It is also a film that desperately wants to be Husbands and Wives. Again, unfortunately, Burns is decidedly no Woody Allen.

I actually sort of vaguely remember maybe liking She's the One, but I barely remember that film at all, so I'm going to go ahead and say that he isn't a very good filmmaker. Life just isn't fair, is it?

Burns seems to have a reputation for being able to write good dialogue, but he really can't--no, what he does is write his approximation of how he thinks cool people ought to talk, peppered with his own allegedly clever commentary about love, which essentially boils down to shockers about how men and women are, you know, different, and relationships are, you know complicated--for a film that's meant to be a hip, irreverant view of relationships, there's precious little actual insight here. I'd go so far as to say there's none, actually.

Burns's characters are--let's not fool ourselves--shallow and dull. Not that shallow and dull characters can't be made to be interesting, but Burns, as previously noted, is no Woody Allen. And in any case, they're not MEANT to be that way here. They are annoying and artificial, with somewhat disturbingly one-tracked minds (sex, natch), frequently acting how Burns needs them to act to get a properly pat ending, rather than in any way that actual humans would behave. And on a side note, how is it that a movie about Modern Love has no gay characters?

Okay, so it's not all bad--I liked it when characters yelled at each other, (yelling's always fun), and Dennis Farina is somewhat amusing as a uber-Don Juan type, but honestly, people, is this what passes for clever nowadays? And so our standards continue to drop...

I didn't like this movie very much. Most of the acting was fine, but the characters weren't very likable on the whole. I watched this with my teen-aged daughter and cringed at the over-the-top discussions of sex--how many partners each character had had (one claimed over 500) and at what age they first had sex. (The movie opens with each character discussing the number of partners.) And we have yet another movie relying on footage shot in New York to seem cosmopolitan or hip or something. Was it terrible? No. I watched until the end. Was it very good? No.