Autumn in New York Directed by Joan Chen Films like this come in, usually rack in $30 million thanks to star power, then end up on everyone's stinker lists at the end of the year. It's a very funny film, and if you are looking for that hidden summer comedy, it's finally here. Winona Ryder's character Charlotte is gonna die, and Richard Gere's Will Keane is very concerned, or at least I'm sure that's what the script intended. Charlotte is 22, Will Keane is 50ish, and they are in love. Here's how they meet: Keane runs a snobby elite restaurant in the Yuppie District of New York where the bread is intentionally hard and the dinner salads alone cost $35. It's the place to be seen, and Will Keane even makes the cover of the New York Times Magazine. Charlotte comes in one night to celebrate her birthday with a couple of friends played by the latest flunkies from the Actor's Studio. Charlotte makes goofy hats, and everyone just thinks they are the rage, including Will Keane. Will calls Charlotte up, asking if she will make him one of her hats for his date for a charity he's attending. Just before you can smell the fish, she shows up with the hat on the day of the charity and you'll never guess what? The date has the hiccups, and Will asks Charlotte to go. Of course it's all a trick, and Will and Charlotte go from the apartment to the charity and back to Will's apartment for some DNA exchange. The two fall in love, she tells him she's going to die because of a bad heart, they break up, and then get back together. The ending of the film is what all the hoopla has been about, and it is supposed to be a surprise, but I have a hunch most audience members will figure out the surprise way before it jumps at you at about the speed of milk going sour. There is absolutely no sexual or platonic chemistry between Ryder and Gere, and Ryder really acts like a goofball in this film. She's always giggling, looking at the ground and playing with beads. Gere is thinking about his next film project and what is being served for lunch all through the film, and it shows. The blame can not be put all on them though, God forbid if it did. The dialogue is soap opera regurgitation and should have been left on the Hallmark cards it was stolen from. There is no identification with these characters, and no one seems to be working in this film, except the cooks handcrafting the expensive salads. Charlotte and her grandmother Dolly (Elaine Stritch) live in a two-story flat on the Upper East Side, but Dolly says she can't even afford pistachio nuts. Charlotte makes goofy hats and plays with beads, so who is bringing in the income? Will used to date Charlotte's mother before she died, and Dolly tells Will to stay away from Charlotte with his dirty thoughts. A few scenes later, Dolly lets Will into Charlotte's room while she isn't there. Who are these people? These people are not real, and they do not exist on or off the screen. The director Joan Chen gives us at least 15 minutes of leaves falling, white birds flying, Richard Gere storming around in the rain and cute kids playing in Central Park, giving us the best Rolls Royce commercial to hit theaters in quite some time. If you want good generation gap romance, rent Harold and Maude. And if you want to know the best place to see Autumn in New York, try your local pub. |
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