A Brilliant Conflict

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

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.

Crossing Delancey and Essex is dangerous at any point of the day, but when a single but sweet book seller (Amy Irving) finds romance with a pickle man (the likable Peter Riegert), it's going to be complicated. She's got all sorts of headaches. When first seen, she's slyly removing the shop-lifted book from an obviously wealthy kleptomaniac during a book store signing event, and has issues with a Dutch author who won't leave her alone, a neighbor with relationships of his own, and most lovingly, her "bubbie" (Reizl Bozyk), aka her Jewish grandmother who most likely raised her who intends to see her married. Enter marriage broker Sylvia Miles (at her most obnoxious) and you can see why Irving has remained single. She's feeling pressure from all sides, but the sweet pickle man might just be the one to bring her out of her obviously lonely, if still very busy, life.New York in the 1980's was a fascinating place, as busy as any era past and present, dangerous yet exciting. The lower East side remains one of the busiest sections of the city outside of Midtown, and is culturally one of the most mixed. Great location scenes of various New York areas fill the camera lens as it is obvious that Irving doesn't live anywhere near there yet knows it even more than where she most likely lives now. She's patient and calm with everybody, even the aggressive Miles who at one point grabs her and won't let her go until she hears her out. But don't be put off by Miles as aggressive as she is. She's not just a modern day Yente; She really believes in what she is doing, and at one point softens her aggressiveness by admitting that every now and then, she actually manages to be completely right.While Irving and Riegert are a lovely couple as book seller and pickle seller and deliver the goods, it is Reizl Bozyk, a Polish born stage actress, who wins the praise as the feisty grandmother, loving and devoted, extremely well meaning and filled with a sparkle that outshines the Chrysler Building. Her good intentions in her case are the pathway to Paradise for her, and she is a treasure to watch in the only mainstream film she ever appeared in. Jeroen Krabbé is a bit hard to take as the over zealous Dutch writer, but it is obvious that he doesn't stand a chance of winning Irving over. The great Broadway leading lady Rosemary Harris shines in a cameo as a poetry writer, while musical character actress Paula Laurence is hysterical in a deli scene where she all of a sudden breaks out into "Some Enchanted Evening" with Irving as her target.Small little gems in the detail make this shine as a sweet little sleeper of a film. Joan Micklin Silver made a name for herself in modern Jewish cinema by directing the cult classic "Hester Street" which brought an Oscar Nomination for Carol Kane, and gets some equally fine performances here from her wonderful cast. Sweet background music helps move the story along, although some of it distinctly sounds like some of the score for the movie version of "On Golden Pond". At almost 30 years old now, this film stands the test of time in its vision of life in lesser known Manhattan neighborhoods, the only difference now being that you probably can't walk down these busy streets without bumping into somebody reading their phone.

The thing I liked most about this movie was the writing. There are parts in the film that are exceptional, such as when the guy tells Isabelle (the protagonist) a story about a friend and his hat. The story he tells is simple, but says so much about his character. I liked the conflict with Isabelle, as she decides whether she likes him or not, despite all his shortcomings (he works in a pickle store, he isn't an author).You can understand why she would be interested in "the author" over him, seeing that she works in a bookstore.What I didn't like about the film is that the two lead characters aren't stand-out performances. Especially the pickle guy, he says his lines in an amateur fashion.If you like this movie (and it is good), then I recommend "Moonstruck".

"Ugly New Yorkers" should be the title. With the exception of Amy Irving, this has got to be one of the ugliest casts in movie history; both women and men. While Irving looked terrific in her earlier days ("Voices"), she's aged sort of in a bad way by this time, but still looks reasonable enough. As for the others: the women, young and old, range from homely to repulsive. And to make things worse, there are some rather nauseating/awful and pointless scenes.I'll start with the former. First, there is a circumcision of a Jewish baby - as if we cared about circumcision rituals, and what is said and done in them. Then there is the awfully yeechy scene where Irving plucks out grandma's facial hairs, one by one. And to top it all, we even get to see grandma's fake teeth!!! Someone give me a vomit bag! Then there was the repulsive old woman singing in a diner: what a damn monster! Was this movie's casting person hiring for a horror film or a romantic "comedy"?! As far as pointless is concerned, we have a reading of poetry by a boring old woman, and we have a "oogie-woogie oochie-goochie goo" scene with an irrelevant baby.But all of this is just side noise which would be forgivable (apart from the hair-picking and the fake teeth) if the core of the movie were good enough. But it isn't. There are too few attempts at humour, in what is supposed to be a romantic comedy, and when there is some humour it's lousy and unfunny (like the flirtatious Jamaican cab-driver sequence; yawn...). Another problem is that neither of the two love-birds' characters are particularly sympathetic! She is somewhat stuck up, and he is a whiny a**hole.But the BIGGEST problem of the movie is Riegert; Amy Irving may not be at the height of her beauty in this film, but she is certainly far too good for this little greaseball. In even plainer English: he is too ugly for her. Plus, his character is always whining; he is constantly offended by Irving's actions like a little girl, always playing the "beleidigte Leberwurst" whenever Irving doesn't act the way he'd have wanted her to. Just because he buys her a hat and a cake doesn't mean she has to go out with the greasy pickle-selling schmuck. Most of the movie is Irving apologizing to Riegert for her "tactless" behaviour, when in fact she should be looking for a better man. This is probably the first romantic "comedy" where I didn't want the couple to hook up! First Irving starts off by flirting with a slimy, phony writer, and then she has her sights set on the easily-offended Riegert - SOME choice that is. There is very little chemistry between the two leads, and it's really no wonder: Irving is a good actress but even she can't pretend that she is attracted to the unmasculine Riegert. With all the weaknesses in the script, the movie would have been considerably better if they had cast a funny, charismatic, likable male lead; Riegert is light years away from being any of that.