French-American actress Julie Delpy is the writer, director and star of 2 Days in New York, a sequel to her earlier project 2 Days in Paris (2007). Her character Marion has broken up with her former partner Jack and now lives in a New York apartment with her child and boyfriend Mingus (Chris Rock). Mingus is a radio announcer and journalist. He has a child from another relationship, who lives with both he and Marion. Their relationship is thrown into disarray when Marion's father (Albert Delpy, the director's real life father) and her sister Rose (Alexia Landeau) and her boyfriend Manu (Alex Nahon) come to stay with them. While having to work their daily lives around their relatives, Marion is also trying to organise a gallery of her artwork, which includes trying to sell her own soul, along with images of her past relationships that are on public display.
Why is it unusual for a small indie film to attract a sequel? Some don't earn enough money at the box office to warrant another entry. Other indie films are tightly scripted in a way that completes the hero's journey satisfactorily, with no other means for continuation. 2 Days in Paris (2007) was a solid indie hit for Julie Delpy, earning just over 19 million dollars internationally on a modest budget. Now Delpy has opted to explore a new part of Marion's life: the strain of a relationship that has children involved. This sequel also tries to subvert the main joke and concept of the first movie: the French relatives are now the outsiders in America, instead of Marion's partner, but the cultural and language barriers are still thematically intact. It's not a particularly drastic or original shift in concept, but there are some major improvements. Delpy's script is a lot funnier and wittier than the first movie. Though the scenes are still episodic, there are more memorable, clever moments, like when Marion has to pretend that she has a terrible illness, with a visible limp, so that her neighbours won't file a noise complaint.
Another positive for the film is the inclusion of Chris Rock, a much more likable and humorous presence than Adam Goldberg's grumpy character, who is now absent. Chris Rock has a very expressive face, which means that he effectively communicate a lot of straight-faced humour in silence. I like his comic timing too. He's well-cast. Until late in the narrative, the film also seems to flow much smoother. Paris had a lot of long, drawn-out sequences, whereas this film reminded me more of a TV sitcom, which fits neatly with its New York apartment setting. Those are the most improved aspects of Delpy's writing and direction. However, even at a meager ninety minutes, the film is still overlong and the pacing dips significantly. It's funny but lacks real dramatic high points to keep us fully engaged, a balance that the great slice of life filmmakers like Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) never seem to omit. And by the end, many of Delpy's quirkier elements feel unsatisfying or overly ambiguous. The comments about her selling her soul because she doesn't believe in an afterlife teeter on being overly precious, as do the rushed philosophical ramblings about her mother and growing up. I would have liked more time spent carefully reflecting and unfolding these aspect of Marion's character to make this movie as deep as it is funny.
Why is it unusual for a small indie film to attract a sequel? Some don't earn enough money at the box office to warrant another entry. Other indie films are tightly scripted in a way that completes the hero's journey satisfactorily, with no other means for continuation. 2 Days in Paris (2007) was a solid indie hit for Julie Delpy, earning just over 19 million dollars internationally on a modest budget. Now Delpy has opted to explore a new part of Marion's life: the strain of a relationship that has children involved. This sequel also tries to subvert the main joke and concept of the first movie: the French relatives are now the outsiders in America, instead of Marion's partner, but the cultural and language barriers are still thematically intact. It's not a particularly drastic or original shift in concept, but there are some major improvements. Delpy's script is a lot funnier and wittier than the first movie. Though the scenes are still episodic, there are more memorable, clever moments, like when Marion has to pretend that she has a terrible illness, with a visible limp, so that her neighbours won't file a noise complaint.
Another positive for the film is the inclusion of Chris Rock, a much more likable and humorous presence than Adam Goldberg's grumpy character, who is now absent. Chris Rock has a very expressive face, which means that he effectively communicate a lot of straight-faced humour in silence. I like his comic timing too. He's well-cast. Until late in the narrative, the film also seems to flow much smoother. Paris had a lot of long, drawn-out sequences, whereas this film reminded me more of a TV sitcom, which fits neatly with its New York apartment setting. Those are the most improved aspects of Delpy's writing and direction. However, even at a meager ninety minutes, the film is still overlong and the pacing dips significantly. It's funny but lacks real dramatic high points to keep us fully engaged, a balance that the great slice of life filmmakers like Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) never seem to omit. And by the end, many of Delpy's quirkier elements feel unsatisfying or overly ambiguous. The comments about her selling her soul because she doesn't believe in an afterlife teeter on being overly precious, as do the rushed philosophical ramblings about her mother and growing up. I would have liked more time spent carefully reflecting and unfolding these aspect of Marion's character to make this movie as deep as it is funny.