Simply Perfect

Must See Movie...

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A genuine Lost-Treasure for movie fans of Romantic-comedy = "Crossing Delancey" (circa1988) is authentically heartfelt, subtle & realistic in presentation and refreshingly free of cliché or artifice.  Directed by the abundantly gifted but perplexingly underrated Joan Micklin Silver who made the incredibly unique film about the early Jewish immigrant experience in NYC called "Hester-Street" With "Crossing Delancey" Micklin-Silver updates her chosen milieu to Late-1980's NYC = populated by an endlessly intriguing mix of old-World East-European culture inexorably transformed/transforming into the modern-assimilated artistic-intellectual enclave populated by ambitious but still deeply-sensitive Souls like the beautiful 'Isabelle Grossman' (portrayed by equally beautiful Amy Irving, in one of her finest film roles)*spoiler-alert* Isabelle's bubbie/Grandma 'Ida' (Reizl Bozyk with extensive Yiddish theater-background) is worried-sick that her granddaughter is still unmarried at the ripe old-age of 33, and possibly heading-down the path of permanent 'spinster-status' unless a pro-active action-plan & intervention is implemented immediately. Enter 'matchmaker' extraordinaire Hannah Mandlebaum (the absolutely indescribable Sylvia Miles) who finds Isabelle a match-made (perhaps fermented) in Heaven, with pickle entrepreneur Sam Posner (down-to-Earth, unpretentious Peter Riegert)Sam is most certainly an all-round 'good-guy' but Isabelle can't seem to reconcile the fact that her irrepressible 'dreams' both personally & professionally have up to now hovered amidst the rarefied-air of mingling with celebrated NYC intellectual literati and noteworthy authors.  Isabelle has spent much of her waking-hours endlessly hosting poetry-readings, book signings and other promotional events in which the literary-minded have flocked, and in fact Isabelle works directly for one of the oldest, most hallowed bookstores/ booksellers in NYC, affording her ample opportunity to meet & greet successful writers on a regular basis. One such individual that catches Isabelle's attention early on is the renowned poet-novelist Anton Maes (played by Jeroen Krabbé) who is married but seems utterly lonely & perpetually angst-ridden nonetheless.Isabelle's fascination with those gifted few who successfully apply pen-to-paper (while making a good living at it) most definitely leads her down a few blind-alleys. Not fully able to 'see' the 'pickle-man' as the promising long-term prospect that he may very well prove to be.  At one point Isabelle even sets the 'pickle-man' up with her outgoing garrulous friend Marylin Cohen (played by straight-talking Suzy Roche of the vocal-group the 'Roches'  who contributed a number of excellent songs for this movie!)Joan Micklin-Silver's "Crossing Delancey" reflects an authentic film and ultimately timeless-Tale (adapted by Susan Sandler from her original stage play of the same-name) about people searching for genuine meaning & authentic identity along with choosing (hopefully wisely) who they are willing to spend the rest of their natural lives with."Crossing-Delancey" is also most certainly a near perfect romantic-comedy that seems infused with boundless good-humor, great thespian performances and unpretentiously profound insights  =  reflecting a genuine 'Lost-treasure' and priceless re-discovery for movie fans particularly of the Romantic-comedy variety.

Minor quibble I know... But if Bubbie has such horrifying aches and pains that she can't even rub a spit of isopropyl alcohol on her knees that sounds pretty bad. However, you see her practically running with great strength down the streets and wait for it....the STEPS!!! Not even coming close to clutching a handrail and full of vigor. I guess those alcohol rubs work? At least if you want to make this old lady a super kvetcher (sp?) then add it to other aspects. She could handle her Snopps perdy dang well imho.I remember being fairly snobbish when looking for a mate but this potential match owned an artisanal market which is quite prestigious and those pseudo intellectuals were a complete bore. What was she thinking when Goober read his inane poetry to her, complete moron!I agree with most reviewers that Jewish folks were portrayed in a horrible light. The obnoxious matchmaker with her table manners and public belching were deplorable. The pickle man was divine comparatively.I did enjoy the NYC street scenes that are most likely way part of the past as well as the closeness of friends, neighbors, and family members. Most endearing was when Bubbie hands over FIVE HUNDIES to Izzy. That had to have hurt back then. Izzy goes and buys a gorgeous dress to impress versus invest, what kind of Jew is she????High recommend for those who want to see the Lower East Side back in the day and for fans of brisks (sp?) and nursing mothers. Otherwise it is slow, boring, lacking of smart dialogue. The ending might be sweet but not rewarding or surprising.

I've been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately, and they all have their conceits. This one is by nature dated, as the lower east side of Manhattan's old Jewish community has largely been displaced by gentrification. I lived in NYC in the 1980s, and it was fun seeing film of communities that have largely been lost since then.That said, while I liked this film, it felt like a take on Hello! Dolly or the like. It was a well-acted, charming romantic comedy with a predictable plot. Girl goes after guy-out-of-her-class, while rejecting perfectly nice guy in her class. Upper class guy comes after her for shallow reasons, and she realizes the value of blue collar guy. The movie or the plot never really made clear why the self-confident and satisfied mid-thirties woman would abandon her lifestyle for the "old-school" guy, especially when the writer "wanted her" albeit for the wrong reasons. In a way, it reeked of the "desperation" that men tried to put on 30-something women in the late 1980s, where any "nice" guy was better than none, and a pretty 34-year-old woman with a career should be happy to end up with the "pickle guy," no matter what her other options might hold. This, even though the writer and director were women.I probably would have rated it a 6.5 if that was an option, as it's a decent flick, for acting, writing and dialogue, and because of the charm of the pre-gentrification NYC settings. But it's certainly dated, almost as if it were out of the 1950s rather than the late-1980s.

SPOILERS BELOWAs an unmarried Jewish woman who has old fashioned elders, I can appreciate this movie now at 37 more than I did when saw it for the first time at 19. It is beautiful, endearing, and enchanting-not to mention funny and poignant.From beginning to end, Amy Irving gives a delightful performance as Isabel, (Izzy) an "Uptown Girl" who prides herself on her independent life in the literary world. Her friends, her colleagues, her entirely lifestyle is highbrow, and she feels comfortable in this world. Then she meets Sam, the "Pickleman", who is played by the always wonderful Peter Reigert. Although she likes him, her snobbery almost gets the best of her. Her awkward attempt to fix him up with her friend ends up backfiring, as she comes to realize what a true gem of a man he is. Add to that, she is engaging in a cat and mouse flirting game with the sexy Jeroen Krabbe, an enigmatic (and egotistical) Dutch writer who ultimately only wants her around so she can be his assistant. The line when she tells him off is priceless! Sylvia Miles, as the yenta matchmaker adds a lot of laughs with her over the top performance. Watching her eat alone adds much comic relief. The real scene stealer however, is the magnificent Reizl Bozyk as Isabel's "Bubby," the sweetnatured, sentimental, all-knowing Ida.With its New York scenery, rich characters and believable storytelling, this film is among the best romantic comedies ever made. It is one worth watching over and over, to cherish more and more through the years, especially as the older generations of Jews, with their old-world traditions and wisdom become a memory to their children and grandchildren. And any young Jewish woman who has ever encountered a matchmaker (which I have) just has to appreciate Hannah Mandelbaum's sincerity and desire to bring young people together to preserve the traditions and Jewish way of life. This film is a perfect 10 out of 10.