A Rainy Day in New York (2019) [PG-13] ***

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on Oct. 7, 2020.

It’s past time for Woody Allen to go gently into retirement. The Oscar-winning director, having made some of the 20th century’s most memorable comedies, has nothing left to prove and his recent output is indicative of someone with no more stories to tell. With A Rainy Day in New York, Allen is spinning his wheels – revisiting familiar themes and ideas from other, earlier films that were presented to far better effect the first time around. Little about A Rainy Day in New York can be considered fresh. It feels like the work of someone who is going through the motions. (One has to wonder whether Allen is continuing to make movies because he feels the creative urge or because he doesn’t want to give his critics the satisfaction of a formal retirement.)

Watching A Rainy Day in New York, it’s easy to become nostalgic about Allen’s classics (like Manhattan and Annie Hall) an even a few of his not-so-classics (like Celebrity) because this new movie references those (and others) and, in the process, reminds us how much better the director once was than what he is now. The movie is labeled a comedy but it’s only occasionally witty and rarely (if ever) laugh-aloud funny. The filmmaker’s bitterness about star culture is evident in nearly every scene as is his distaste for everything to do with the paparazzi and celebrity worship.

The narrative takes two upstate New York university students, lovers Gatsby (Timothee Chalamet) and Ashleigh (Elle Fanning), and brings them into the city when she scores an interview with reclusive, iconoclast director Roland Pollard (Liev Schreiber). Raised in Tucson, Arizona, Ashleigh has little experience with big cities and Gatsby, who has just won big at the poker table, is anxious to turn the weekend into a romantic getaway. (He spends considerable money on their hotel accommodations.) But circumstances separate them. Pollard is entranced with Ashleigh (at one point calling her his new muse) and various other celebrated film-types are drawn to her, including legendary writer Ted Davidoff (Jude Law) and international mega-hunk Francisco Vega (Diego Luna). Meanwhile, a dejected Gatsby consorts with Chan (Selena Gomez), the younger sister of an ex-flame, gets into a poker game, and brings a hooker (Kelly Rohrbach) to an upscale party being hosted by his mother (Cherry Jones).

One problem with many of Allen’s post-2000 films is his tendency to write dialogue that would sound natural only if he spoke it. As a result, the male stars of his films – in this case, Timothee Chalamet – are often put into the odd position of mimicking a younger Allen in order to be able to get the cadence and mannerisms right. (The strangest example of this was Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity – something I called an odd and disconcerting experience.) Not to be outdone, Elle Fanning gives a truly horrible imitation of a twenty-something Diane Keaton. There are some nice supporting performances – Liev Schreiber, Jude Law, Selena Gomez, and Cherry Jones – but the two leads are so bad that it hardly matters.

As is Allen’s wont when setting his films, this is a gauzy, fanciful New York that, if it ever existed, was never accessible to anyone without extraordinary wealth and/or privilege. This backdrop has served Allen well in many of his better excursions but it feels dated and out-of-touch in A Rainy Day in New York. Plus, the production values are questionable. At times during the rain, the sun can be seen shining. Presumably Allen lacked the funding to be able to fix this in post-production, or he didn’t care enough to do so. [Berardinelli’s rating: 2 stars out of 4 = 50%]

Labels: comedy, romance
IMDb 65/100 
MetaScore (critics=38, viewers=75) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=43, viewers=66) 
Blu-ray 
James Berardinelli’s review 

Nobody Wants This (2024) [TV-MA] ****

A film review by Richard Roeper on September 26, 2024.

In lesser hands, the premise for the latest Netflix comedy series might have resulted in Cringe TV, like something out of a TikTok parody video or SNL sketch:

It’s the mid-2000s crossover we always wanted! Kristen Bell from ‘Veronica Mars’ is Joanne, an outspoken and agnostic blonde with a sexually explicit podcast, and Adam Brody from ‘The O.C.’ is Noah, a hot rabbi from a traditional Jewish family. How can these two VERY different people make a romance work? After all ... Nobody Wants This!

Talk about a title that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, it’s all in the execution, and the good news is that Nobody Wants This is a smart, breezy, warmhearted and consistently funny show, with each episode playing like a mini version of an endearing rom-com. Inspired by the real-life experience of creator Erin Foster, this is a sweet confection that nevertheless has enough bite and edge to avoid delving into the mawkish. It’s also refreshingly candid while being respectful in its treatment of Judaism, and yet not shying away from mining humor from certain tropes and misconceptions.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the leads in rom-com series and films would often work in magazine publishing or advertising or at TV station; these days, they have a podcast. So it goes with Kristen Bell’s Joanne and her sister and best friend Morgan (Justine Lupe, Willa on Succession). They’re both single and they’ve been through all the dating apps more than once, and they mine their experiences and observations for frank discussions on their increasingly popular podcast, which actually does sound like it could be a hit.

At a party thrown by their producer, Ashley (Sherry Cola), Joanne has a Meet Cute with Adam Brody’s Noah, a handsome and witty rabbi who has recently ended things with his longtime girlfriend Rebecca (Emily Arlook). From the get-go, Joanne and Noah acknowledge there’s a mutual attraction, but also there’s no point in pursuing a romance because despite Noah’s hipster quipping and cool, he’s a very traditional rabbi who is all-in, while Joanne is the very definition of the classic shiksa. They’ll just stay in the Friend Zone.

You can guess how long that lasts.

Over the course of 10 fast-paced episodes, none longer than 31 minutes, Nobody Wants This follows these two flawed but relatable and essentially good people who are so obviously right for one another but face a checklist of rom-com obstacles along the way, from the religious and cultural divide to the craziness of their respective families to social media-fueled misunderstandings to the ex-girlfriend who might still be in the picture.

Bell and Brody are natural actors who click wonderfully together, and the supporting cast is filled with terrific and familiar talents. Justine Lupe is a scene-stealing comedic force as Morgan, while Timothy Simons (Veep) turns in typically hilarious work as Noah’s cloddy but endearing brother Sasha. Legendary Broadway star Tovah Feldshuh plays Noah’s rigid and controlling mother, Bina, in a role that brushes up against stereotypes but is saved by the sharp writing and commanding performance.

At times, Joanne’s lack of knowledge about anything Jewish strains credulity. It’s hard to believe she’s never heard the term shalom, and when she learns it means hello, goodbye and peace, she chirps, Oh, it’s like the Jewish ‘aloha’!

Mostly, though, Nobody Wants This has fun with clichés and tropes, as when Noah and Sasha hear a message from Morgan telling Joanne that Noah is cuter than I expected, he doesn’t look that Jewish, and Noah says, What does Jewish look like to you? Are you picturing a bigger nose, or like curlier hair and Sasha chimes in with, Does my brother not look like he could control the media? (That it’s done in a teasing and affectionate fashion makes all the difference.)

Other times, Noah’s passion for his faith and Joanne’s willingness to learn is handled with grace, as when Noah explains the rituals and meaning of Havdalah, the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, and Joanne finds it quite lovely. (There are also plenty of current-day touches, from the use of Olivia Rodrigo songs to a reference to the Call Her Daddy podcast.)

This is also a great-looking show, painting L.A. in the most flattering light. Everyone lives in places that could be photo spreads in the Los Angeles Times, and they hang out at picturesque places like the rooftop at Mama Shelter in Hollywood for brunch. Powered by the enduring likability of Bell and Brody, that wonderful supporting cast and the consistently strong writing, Nobody Wants This has all the ingredients for a multi-season run. [Roeper’s rating: 3 stars out of 4]

Labels: comedy
IMDb 81/100 
MetaScore (critics=73, viewers=61) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=78, viewers=86) 
Netflix