[FIRST PUBLISHED ON THE MODERN WOMAN’S SURVIVAL GUIDE]
Ever think it was crazy having all your family in one room? Well, Hopscotch’ latest film, an incredibly smart comedy entitled 2 days in New York takes exasperating family insanity to a whole new level; in a way that will not only have you in fits of laughter, but will also make your family seem more functional than ever.
Written, directed and starring Julie Delpy; this impressive movie is a follow up to Delpy’s earlier 2007 film 2 Days in Paris, in which she played the same character with a different love interest. However, 2 days in New Yorkdevises its own plot, drama, conflicts and comedy.
Delpy stars as Marion, an artist extremely nervous before a showing of her latest works in New York City. She lives with her boyfriend, Mingus and her son by a previous marriage, Lulu as well as Mingus’ child from a previous marriage.
As if the apartment wasn’t crowded enough, it gets even more so when Marion’s father, Jeannot {played by Julie Delpy’s real father, Albert Delpy} comes to visit on the eve of her show, along with Marion’s sister, Rose and her boyfriend Manu {who just also happens to be Marion’s ex-boyfriend}.
Delpy truly takes the idea of culture clash to a whole new level, as the French visitors’ personalities and actions stray away from the much conceived French stereotype of elegance and sophistication and rather delve into more loose, manic absurdities in the the most hilarious fashion.
Think, attempts to smuggle French sausages into the country, arrangements for a pot dealer to come to the apartment and the keying of limousines. Of course, with all this craziness going on, tensions build, cracks appear and strains start to appear in Mingus and Marion’s relationship for the first time.
Marion is ultimately left to choose between the two most important men in her life, her partner or her husband.
The cast in their roles, could not be better suited. Chris Rock in his role as Mingus is great, perfectly encapsulating the role of the partner trying hard to compromise and like his partners family, at the same time overcome with a slow burning outrage, that Marion’s family’s consistent absurdities exacerbate.
Julie Delpy in both her acting and directing roles bring her signature sentimental wittiness, as Marion as she tries her best to calm the neurotic nature of her family, whilst undergoing her own stresses and trying not to reach breaking point.
2 Days of New York is a refreshingly light and loose film, an absolute joy to watch. It is truly the perfect movie to share a few light-hearted laughs with some friends these holidays, earning itself a solid 7 stars.
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