Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In Wake of Allen's Curse of Jade Scorpion..., July 9, 2002
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.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you can make it here....you can make it Anywhere.., November 23, 2001
Any filmmaker who attempts to make a free-wheeling, mostly improvisational, hand-held camera shot film about relationships, set in New York City will always be compared to Woody Allen and his films. Allen set the standard to which all such directors must aspire in such films as "Annie Hall" and "Manhatten." Ed Burns' "The Sidewalks of New York," strays a bit from the Allen formula in that Burns' sensibilities and background are not Jewish/Manhatten but Catholic/outer burroughs New York derived. And like Allen, Burns' humor and point of view is an acquired taste, notwithstanding the fact that Burns' is tall and good looking while Allen is short and nebbish. It's to Burns' credit though, in the world of his films, that he has as much if not more trouble than Allen, in his films, finding and keeping someone to love which makes Burns' films as "Universal" as those of Allen: and therein lays the humanity of his films. "The Sidewalks of New York" follows the relationships of Tommy (Ed Burns) and Maria (Rosario Dawson), Annie (Heather Graham) and Griffin (Stanley Tucci), Ashley (Brittany Murphy) and Ben (David Krumholtz). Much of the script is witty,bright and more importantly intelligent. The performances are first-rate with Brittany Murphy and Rosario Dawson being the standouts in this large cast.
It is to Ed Burns' credit that he shows no signs of being intimidated by Woody Allen even though both of these filmmakers generally follow the same path thematically. New York is big enough to handle both of them....I'm sure of it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Burns' best work, but nicely done., November 21, 2004
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.
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