NAKED IN NEW YORK
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 6.3
Date Released: Spring 1994 (varies) Running Length: 1:31 Rated: R (Language, sex, mature themes)
Starring: Eric Stoltz, Mary-Louise Parker, Timothy Dalton, Ralph Macchio, Tony Curtis, Kathleen Turner, Jill Clayburgh, Whoopi Goldberg Director: Daniel Algrant Producer: Frederick Zollo Screenplay: John Warren and Daniel Algrant Cinematography: Joey Forsyte Music: Angelo Badalamenti Released by Fine Line Features
By now, I've come to the conclusion that the filmmakers of every "Generation X" movie feel that they must include heavy doses of angst and aimlessness. Are these therefore the hallmarks by which this age group are known? Motion picture people seem to think so. Anyway, after a while, it gets repetitious, and that's the main problem with NAKED IN NEW YORK. There's nothing here that hasn't been presented before, often in a more original context.
Eric Stoltz (who is in his second Gen X picture, following BODIES, REST AND MOTION) is Jake Briggs, a playwright trying to discover his niche in the world. He's living in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his girlfriend Joanne White (Mary-Louise Parker). His relationship with Joanne is on shaky ground, as their respective careers begin to eat up the time they once devoted to each other. Then Jake's friend Chris (Ralph Macchio) calls from New York to say that powerful producer Carl Fisher (Tony Curtis) wants to produce Jake's play MASTER OF MY EMOTIONS. So, leaving Joanne behind to pursue her new job with boss Elliott Price (Timothy Dalton), Jake heads for the city.
Jake is a self-centered character, and it isn't necessarily great fun to spend ninety-one minutes with him. By the end of the film, he ends up hurting just about everyone around him, including Chris, Joanne, and--not surprisingly--himself. He compromises his creativity and friendships to get a famous actress (Kathleen Turner) in his play, and this sends him spinning into a self-loathing-induced depression.
The best parts of NAKED IN NEW YORK occur on the university campus, before Jake and Joanne graduate. The early stages of their romance is conveyed with honesty and genuine humor, before Jake's on-screen presence starts to become oppressive. Like ANNIE HALL, however, this is more a picture about breaking up than coming together.
The leads are both good. By sheer force of personality, Eric Stoltz enables us to occasionally sympathize with his character, and Mary-Louise Parker brings a heart-wrenching blend of independence and vulnerability to Joanne. Stealing the show, though, is screen veteran Tony Curtis as a no-nonsense producer who won't take "no" for an answer. Then there's a difficult-to-recognize Whoopi Goldberg, playing a talking face on a wall.
In many ways, the history of NAKED IN NEW YORK's development is almost as interesting as the film itself. Writer/director Dan Algrant came up with the semi-autobiographical story while studying under Martin Scorsese at Columbia University. Following Algrant's graduation, Scorsese called him and offered to executive produce the movie as part of an effort to revive New York's film industry. The script attracted a great deal of attention in the business, resulting in a cast that is, to put it mildly, loaded.
There's a scene early in the movie when Jake walks into a party filled with famous authors, and their literary resumes appear on the screen. Had this kind of wit and originality infused the bulk of NAKED IN NEW YORK, it could have been a memorable motion picture. Sadly, moments like that are scarce, and most of the charm of the movie results from its likeable lead actors.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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